Pink Diamond Breaks Record at Christie's Hong Kong Auction

Pink Diamond Breaks Record at Christie's Hong Kong Auction



Christie's Hong Kong sells its highest priced jewel at the autumn sale on Monday. A rare 14-carat diamond called the "The Perfect Pink" sold for more than 23 million U.S. dollars after an intense bidding session.

[Francois Curiel, President, Christie's Asia]:
"The star lot of the auction, the last lot of the auction, was a fabulous 14 carat pink diamond which was sold for 23 million U.S. Dollars. Now that's a very high price. It's the highest price for a diamond ever achieved at auction in Asia."

Curiel says the clarity and purity of the pink was the reason for the high price.

So far only 18 pink diamonds bigger than 10 carats have ever gone on the block in 244 years of auction history.

The auction is the largest jewelry sale held in Asia and the biggest worldwide.

[Francois Curiel, President, Christie's Asia]:
"We had a fabulous jewelry auction on Monday night in Hong Kong at the convention center, where more than $80 million U.S. dollars changed hands in less than four hours. And Hong Kong has now proven that it is the center for jewelry auction in the world."

The company's week-long sale of wine, art, antiques, watches and gems is expected to total more than 200 million dollars.