Christie's sells vivid pink diamond for $28 million
The Fortune Pink Diamond, the largest pear-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond ever put up for auction, has just been sold by Christie's auction house for $28.8 million or P1,677,973,717 based on current exchange rates.
Agence France-Presse reports that the bid for the diamond lasted for four minutes, starting at 17 million Swiss francs and involving three telephone bidders engaged in a bidding battle.
Before the sale, Reuters had reported that the 18.18 carat Fortune Pink Diamond was estimated to sell anywhere between $25 million to $35 million.
While the Fortune Pink Diamond is the largest pear-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond ever put up for auction, it is not the largest vivid pink diamond to sell at auction. The largest vivid pink diamond auctioned at Christie's was the 18.960 carat Winston Pink Legacy, which sold for $50.4 million in 2018.
The sale of the Fortune Pink Diamond follows that of the 11.15 carat Williamson Pink Star that was auctioned last month at Sotheby's for $57.7 million or P3,361,773,732 based on current exchange rates. The price was the second-highest price paid at auction for any jewel and was twice the estimated sale price of $21 million.
The CTF Pink Star currently holds the world record for a pink diamond after selling for $71.2 million in 2017.
Other items to clock in record-breaking bid during the past year include a jersey Michael Jordan wore in the 1998 NBA Finals that sold for $10 million in September, making it the most expensive sports memorabilia ever sold. It also beat the record bid set by a Kobe Bryant jersey for a game-worn basketball jersey.
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupés - one of only two models of the car to exist - became the most expensive car ever sold after it was bought for $143 million in May.
May also saw Andy Warhol's "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" become the most expensive 20th-century artwork to ever be auctioned after it sold for $195 million.
In June, a collection of Nike Air Force 1s also sold for $264,600.
CHECK OUT THE FINAL BIDS FOR THE AIR FORCE 1S IN THE COLLECTION IN THE GALLERY BELOW.
