Record Prices at Gem Auctions
ABSTRACT
Auction records kept breaking in late 2014 as the world’s ultra-wealthy buyers vied for rare, important gemstones. At Sotheby’s October 7 Hong Kong auction, an 8.41 ct GIA-graded Fancy Vivid purple-pink, Internally Flawless diamond (figure 1) drew a winning bid of $17,768,041 from a private buyer from Asia. It was the highest price ever paid for a Vivid pink diamond at auction. And at $2.1 million per carat, it came close to besting the all-time per-carat price achieved by a gemstone.
On November 21 at Sotheby’s New York, a 9.75 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond (figure 2) sold for $32,645,000, a new auction record total price for any blue diamond. At $3,348,205 per carat, it was also a new record price per carat for any diamond. The pear-shaped diamond went to a private collector in Hong Kong who named it the Zoe diamond.
