The Williamson Pink Star, the second largest internally flawless fancy pink diamond in auction history, weighing 11.15 carats, has just sold for HK$453 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong, a record price per carat of nearly HK$40.65 million.
The Williamson Pink Star is a 32-carat rough stone from the Williamson Mine in Tanzania, cut to a cushion shape with masterly craftsmanship.
Two illustrious pink diamonds are the source of the name "Williamson Pink Star." The first is the 59.60-carat "Pink Star" diamond, which in 2017 fetched a record $71.2 million at auction. The second is the 23.60-carat Williamson diamond, which was given to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947.
Second Largest, Fancy Vivid, Internally Flawless
Pink is one of the rarest colors in natural diamonds: less than 3% of all diamonds certified by the GIA are classified as fancy colored, and less than 5% of these are defined as being predominantly pink.
Of these already small numbers, very few are sufficiently saturated to be classified as Fancy Vivid Pink, and most of them are relatively small in size. As a result, there are very few Fancy Vivid Pink diamonds weighing up to 10 carats.
"The Williamson Pink Star is not only the highest grade in terms of color and clarity, but is also classified as 'Type IIa' - less than 2% of diamonds fall into this category. "Type IIa is the highest chemically pure diamond, often with exceptional optical clarity.