Fortune Pink diamond sells for more than $28.5 mn

The Fortune Pink diamond, an exceptionally rare giant gemstone, sold for more than $28.5 million at auction in Geneva on Tuesday to a private Asian collector.

At 18.18 carats, the gem is the largest pear-shaped "fancy vivid pink" diamond ever sold under the hammer, Christie's auction house said.

The dazzling diamond fetched a hammer price of 24.5 million Swiss francs ($24,615,150), rising to 28,436,500 Swiss francs ($28,570,150) with the buyer's premium added on.

The bidding, which lasted for a tense four minutes, started at 17 million Swiss francs and was a three-way battle between telephone bidders, with the winner eventually claiming the gem by upping the bid by half a million.

The diamond was exhibited in Geneva then headed to New York, Shanghai, Taiwan and Singapore in October before returning to Switzerland.

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It was auctioned in the Magnificent Jewels sale at the Hotel des Bergues, part of Christie's Luxury Week of sales in Geneva.

The Fortune Pink had been estimated to fetch between $25 million and $35 million.

The world record for a pink diamond was set in 2017, when a stone known as the CTF Pink Star was sold in Hong Kong for $71.2 million.

Source: AFP