The exceptional ‘The Spirit of the Rose’, a vivid purple-pink diamond of 14.83 carats sold for US$ 26.6 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva last night.
The oval modified brilliant-cut fancy vivid purple-pink diamond weighing 14.83 carats, unmounted.
Accompanied by GIA report no. 6204120527, stating that diamond is Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink, Natural Colour, Internally Flawless; together with a Type IIa classification letter.
The GIA report additionally accompanied by a separate monograph expressing the rarity and the characteristics of the stone.
‘The Spirit of the Rose’ is the largest vivid purple-pink diamond ever to appear at auction.
At 14.83 carats, this very rare gem is one of the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.
Not only has the diamond received the highest colour and clarity grades, it has also been found to be part of the rare subgroup comprising less than 2% of all gem diamonds – known as Type IIa. Stones in this group are chemically the purest of all diamond crystals and have often extraordinary optical transparency.
Mined and cut by Alrosa, the diamond was bought by an anonymous phone bidder.
Named after a celebrated Russian ballet, the extremely rare gem was faceted from the largest pink rough ever mined in Russia.
Actually, the diamond’s name comes after the “Le Spectre de la rose”, an acclaimed ballet premiered by the Ballets Russes company and their legendary impresario Sergey Dyagilev in Monaco in 1911.
The crystal rough’s name itself, the ‘Nijinsky’, is a hint to the legendary dancer and his acclaimed performance as the ‘Rose’ in the original Ballets Russes performance.
It was unearthed from Alrosa’s Ebelyakh deposit in the Republic of Sakha in the northeast of Russia tin July 2017. It took a whole year for Alrosa cutting masters to polish the diamond. The choice of the oval shape ensures the diamond’s maximum possible size, while the number of facts emphasise the gem’s delicate rose-petal colour.
Commenting on this sale, Benoit Repellin, Head of Sotheby’s Geneva ‘Magnificent Jewels’ auction said:
The Spirit of the Rose caught the imagination of everyone who had the chance to see it. With its size, beautiful colour, perfect cut and oval shape, it is a wonder of nature, steeped in Russia’s century-long diamond tradition and cultural heritage. It fully deserves the price achieved tonight, which is also a growing appreciation, and awareness of the great scarcity of pink diamonds around the world. With the supply of these beautiful stones becoming ever more limited, these gems are likely to continue to become even more prized.
Benoit Repellin, Head of Sotheby’s Geneva ‘Magnificent Jewels’ auction
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