Diamond Prices Keep Breaking Records

(IDEX Online News) – A 34.65-carat fancy intense pink cushion-cut diamond broke a number of records at Christie's on Monday. Fancy color diamond prices continue to ascend, almost regardless of the economic situation.

The diamond, nicknamed The Princie Diamond, sold to an anonymous collector for $39,323,750, or $1,134,885 per carat (p/c), making it the most valuable Golconda diamond ever sold at auction and the most valuable diamond ever sold at auction in the U.S.

The price is also a record for Christie’s, making it the most valuable diamond ever sold by the auction house.

A number of characteristics made this diamond a record breaker. It not only has an exceptional color and size, it also originates from the ancient Golconda mines in South Central India and has a royal provenance.  

The diamond was first recorded in the holdings of the Royal family of Hyderabad, rulers of one of the wealthiest provinces of the Mughal Empire.

It was auctioned for the first time in 1960 by the Nizam of Hyderabad and was bought by the London branch of Van Cleef & Arpels for £46,000, about $1.3 million in today's value.

The purchase price represents an average appreciation of a little more than 6.6 percent annually. However, the accelerating rise in prices of fancy color diamonds in the past decade is expected to push up the value of the Princie Diamond at a much faster rate in the future.

The Magnificent Jewels auction totaled $81.4 million, and also included a 30.32-carat rectangular-cut D/VVS1 diamond bought for $4.4 million ($146,300 p/c) by a private buyer and a 23.30-carat marquise-cut D/VVS2 diamond ring by Harry Winston bought by Graff for $3.3 million ($140,000 p/c).