A 52 carat ruby and a pink diamond have actually set 2 world auction records after they went under the hammer for almost £28 million each.
The 55.22 carat Mozambique ruby, called the Estrela de Fura 55.22, cost 34.8 million dollars (£27,723,420) throughout Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York on Thursday – setting a brand-new world auction record for a ruby along with for any coloured gems.
The record was formerly held by the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59 carat Burmese stone, which cost 30.3 million dollars (£24,148,191) at Sotheby’s Geneva in May 2015.
The ruby was just recently cut from a 101 carat rough found at a ruby mine in Mozambique in July 2022, among the biggest ruby deposits on the planet.
The auction house has actually said that rubies of this magnitude are “exceedingly rare”, with just 2 examples formerly striking the 15 million dollar (£11,951, 250) mark.
A 10.57 carat pink diamond, called The Eternal Pink, likewise attained 34.8 million dollars at auction on Thursday, developing a world auction record for a “fancy purplish-pink diamond”.
Sotheby’s has actually explained it as the “most vivid pink diamond to ever come to market”.
The record was formerly held by a 10.64 carat elegant brilliant purplish-pink diamond which cost 19.9 million dollars (£15,857,116) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2019.
Quig Bruning, head of Sotheby’s Jewellery in the Americas, said: “Today, we witnessed the historic sale of not one, but two of the most exquisite and important diamonds and gemstones to ever hit the auction block.
“It’s difficult to express the range of emotions I felt when I first laid eyes on the Estrela de Fura 55.22, but to put it simply, I was entranced.
“With its unprecedented size, piercing colour and rare degree of optical transparency and clarity, it truly deserved the record-breaking price today, as it now joins the ranks of the world’s most legendary gemstones.”
Reflecting on the pink diamond’s accomplishment, he included: “It was equally an honour to have handled a diamond as breathtaking and extraordinary in nature as The Eternal Pink, and its price today reaffirms that Sotheby’s is the premier destination for the world’s rarest diamond creations.
“I proudly speak on behalf of the global jewellery department at Sotheby’s when I say how truly privileged we are to have been a steward of these ultra-rare gems and today’s results are further proof that there is continued demand for the finest diamonds and gemstones of the very highest order.”
