Christie’s expects record price for rare ‘Vivid Pink’ diamond

A rare, 5-carat cut pink diamond, called The Vivid Pink, will be the centrepiece of auction house Christie's autumn sale of jewels in Hong Kong. When the auction takes place on 1 December, Christie's expects the stone to approach world record prices for this type of diamond.

The stone, which comes from a private collection, is set in a so-called 'cushion-cut' ring by famed jewellers Graff Diamonds, is expected to fetch between $5-7 million, in reach of the current world auction record for a pink diamond - a 19.66-carat stone that sold in Geneva for $7.4 million in 1994.

The diamond will be on view in various cities worldwide in the months leading up to the auction. While just a quarter the size of the record-holding pink gem and not quite flawless, the stone's 'vivid pink' is considered near perfect and the auction house has touted it as one of the best coloured stones to appear in recent years.

The piece is the largest fancy vivid pink potentially flawless diamond to ever be offered for sale at auction. While the majority of natural pink diamonds exhibit a colour modifier such as purple, orange, or grey, The Vivid Pink shows no trace of secondary colour.

"There are pink diamonds and then there are pink diamonds," said Francois Curiel, the international head of Christie's jewellery department. ''It is extremely rare for a stone of such top quality to appear on the market with top notes in colour, cut, clarity and carat weight. This 5-carat vivid pink gem combines the best of all criteria.''

While the South African-mined diamond isn't quite rated flawless given minor blemishes, Christie's said that these could be removed by minor re-polishing. Christie's has a track-record of putting rare polished stones up for sale in Asia, given its confidence in the depth of the Asian market for the world's top gemstones and artwork.