World’s Biggest Diamond Sale Becomes World’s Biggest Diamond Default

Sotheby’s said Thursday that the high-bidder of the 59.6-carat “Pink Star” diamond that sold for a world record price of $83.2 million has defaulted.

Diamond cutter Isaac Wolf, who said he was representing unnamed investors, outbid three rivals for the gem at Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale held in November. He renamed it the “Pink Dream.”

Wolf was unable to pay for the flawless fancy vivid pink diamond, according to the auction house’s annual report. It is now part of Sotheby’s inventory valued at approximately $72 million

According to a report on CNBC, the auction house had to buy back the diamond for $60 million because it had guaranteed that price to the original seller of the gem, whose identity is unknown.

In a conference call with investors Thursday, Patrick McClymont, Sotheby’s CEO, said the auction house is still talking with Wolf about the future of the diamond.

“We are currently in discussions with the buyer while also considering other alternatives,” he said. “In the meantime, we are comfortable with our valuation and see real value in owning the diamond at this price.”

Wolf in a YouTube video explaining the purchase said he was representing a group of investors and considered the diamond to be worth about $150 million, based on current prices for pink diamonds of similar quality.

“It’s not that I’m buying this with the money that I have in my piggy bank,” Wolf said. “It’s basically a group of investors—financial people—that are backing me on this and they are doing this as an investment, and hopefully to make a big profit.”



The diamond is graded as Type IIa, which is rare for any pink diamond, much less one of this size and color. It is twice the size of any vivid pink diamond ever brought to auction and the largest known diamond rated vivid pink. David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery Division in Europe and the Middle East and chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland, said the diamond is one of the most important gems he has seen in his 35-year career.

“It is difficult to exaggerate the rarity of vivid pink diamonds weighing only five carats,” he said prior to the auction. “So this 59.60 carat stone is simply off any scale, and passes, I believe, into the ranks of the earth’s greatest natural treasures.”

The oval-cut gem was the highlight of the November auction in Geneva. It was estimated to fetch more than $60 million. The bidding opened at $48 million and lasted for about five-minutes before Wolf made the winning bid.

The diamond was originally mined in South Africa in 1999 as a 132.5-carat rough by De Beers. It was cut by the Steinmetz Diamond Company over a two-year period and was formerly known as Steinmetz Pink. In 2003, it was shown publicly in Monaco and was displayed at the Smithsonian Institute as part of its “Splendor of Diamonds” exhibit, according to Wikipedia. The Pink Star was sold privately in 2007.

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The Pink Star Diamond Fetches World Auction Record Of $83 Million

The 59.6-carat Pink Star diamond lived up to its hype by selling for a world record price of approximately $83.4 million at Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale Wednesday.

When introducing the internally flawless fancy pink vivid diamond, David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery Division in Europe and the Middle East, called it “one of the most remarkable gems to ever appear at auction.”

Bidding opened at 48 million Swiss francs and gradually climbed to 64 million Swiss francs. After a pause it quickly climbed to 67 million francs ($73.2 million), shattering its $60 million high estimate. Nervous laughter could be heard on Sotheby’s live feed as the bidding slowly pushed up to the winning bid 68 million Swiss francs. Commission fees pushed the final total to more than 76.3 million Swiss francs ($83.4 million).

The diamond is graded as Type IIa, which is rare for any pink diamond, much less one of this size and color. Cut over a period of two years, The Pink Star is more than twice the size of the Graff Pink—a 24.78-carat fancy intense pink diamond that established a world auction record for a diamond and any gemstone or jewel at $46.2 million, at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010. The current record price per carat for a fancy vivid pink diamond of $2,155,332 is set by a 5-carat diamond, sold in Hong Kong in January 2009. The current record price for any colored diamond sold at auction is $2,398,151 per carat, for “the Orange,” a 14.82-carat fancy vivid orange diamond that sold a day earlier at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction. The per carat price for the The Pink Star has yet to be released and will be updated.

Cut by Steinmetz Diamonds over a period of nearly two years from a 132.5-carat rough, the diamond was first unveiled to the public in May 2003 as the “Steinmetz Pink.” The stone was first sold privately in 2007 and renamed The Pink Star.

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