The Graff Pink. Copyright 2013 Top5Bin.
As of today, the Graff Pink holds the 1st place title on our Top Twenty Diamonds & Jewels Sold at Auction.
In 2010, billionaire Laurence Graff competed with three other bidders in a landmark bidding war which set the world record for a jewel sold at auction. When he took home this remarkable pink diamond, it was graded by the Gemological Institute of America as a 24.78-carat Fancy Intense Pink, VVS2 clarity, emerald-cut diamond mounted between two shield-shaped white diamonds in a platinum setting.
According to Sotheby's David Bennett, Chairman Jewelry Europe & the Middle East, this "unbelievable pink diamond," if not his favorite, is certainly "one of the most important diamonds to come up for auction" {cited}. And that was before Mr. Graff turned it over to his master cutters, whom he calls "colour artisans" on his website.
In a fairly brief period of time, these highly skilled stone cutters transformed this already amazing stone into a GIA-certified Internally Flawless (IF), Fancy Vivid Pink diamond. An amazing feat, considering they shaved less than 1 carat off the gem's total weight.
In layman's terms, this translates to a pink diamond that is nearly perfect in every way, including its coveted rectangular-cut shape with its elegantly rounded corners. According to Graff Diamonds, it was in celebration of the diamond's new classification that Mr. Graff named it 'The Graff Pink'.
From the outset, Mr. Graff expressed that he purchased the diamond for his own personal collection, a collection that includes another top-seller, The Wittelsbach-Graff, as well as several other very important diamonds, including The Delaire Sunrise and The Graff Constellation.
When the auctioneer placed this stone on the block, Sotheby's expected the rare and important stone to realize a high sum, with estimates between $27 and $38 million. However, even David Bennett, who loves this stone immensely, was astonished when the hammer fell on a final bid of $674, including buyer's premium and commission.
Experts cite five major reasons for the astronomical sales price for this pink wonder: Rarity, Purity, Carat Weight, Provenance (History), and Market Demand.
While the stone's somewhat mysterious provenance and with more investors seeking "a portable form of wealth" {cited} in an unstable economy play a small role in the success of this diamond at auction, it is actually the rarity of this diamond that accounts for such fierce competition over its ownership.
The diamond's purity, color, and carat weight placed it among the elite in diamonds, even before Mr. Graff's cutters upped the ante with their expert skills. Pink diamonds are among the rarest in the world. According to one report, they comprise less than 0.03% of global diamond production.
In addition, the purity of this diamond afforded it a classification of Type IIa, which accounts for only 1-2% of diamonds on the market. Furthermore, most pink diamonds fall below 5 carats, so one that weighs over 24 carats warrants a designation of astronomically rare.
Now that The Graff Pink has been modified to remove its 25 flaws and recut to enhance its color grade, by not one but three whole grades, one can only imagine how much this magnificent stone will be worth the next time it comes to market. For now, it appears that Mr. Graff is completely satisfied to count it a member of his own personal collection. 11 years ago
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