Laurence Graff, a London jewelry dealer, last week bought a diamond in a Swiss sale for 45.4 million francs ($45.6 million), a record for any gem at auction.
ARTKABINETT social network of fine art collectors always appreciates when a member put on their finest when attending event openings such as Art Basel.
Graff’s telephone bid for the pink stone beat an estimate of 27 million francs to 38 million francs at Sotheby’s, Geneva.
“It is the most fabulous diamond I’ve seen in my career,” Graff said in a statement issued by Sotheby’s. He named the gem “the Graff Pink,” the auction house said.
The jewelry auction raised a record 103 million francs, Sotheby’s said. Demand for rare gems as a portable form of wealth has pushed up prices.
The 24.78-carat emerald-cut stone was graded “Fancy Intense Pink” by the Gemological Institute of America. It was sold by a private collector and hadn’t been seen on the open market since being bought from Harry Winston about 60 years ago, the New York-based auction house said.
“What makes it so immensely rare is the combination of its exceptional color and purity with the classic emerald-cut,” David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s European and the Middle Eastern jewelry departments, said in a statement.
“It’s a style of cutting normally associated with white diamonds and one that is so highly sought-after when found in rare colors such as pink and blue.”
Graff previously paid 16.4 million pounds ($24.3 million) for the 35.56-carat grayish-blue “Wittelsbach Diamond” at Christie’s International in London in December 2008 (picture at right), then the highest for a gem at auction.
