Hong Kong: A rare pink diamond has been sold in Hong Kong for nearly $58 million, setting a record for price per carat paid at auction for any diamond or gemstone.
According to Sotheby’s, the 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star fetched HK$453.2 million ($57.7 million), the second-highest price paid at auction for any jewel.
The winning bid, by an undisclosed buyer from Boca Raton, Florida, was more than twice the estimated $21 million sale price.
The stone was the second-largest pink diamond to be sold at auction.
The world record for a pink diamond was set in 2017, when a stone known as the CTF Pink Star was sold in Hong Kong for $71.2 million.
The largest known pink diamond is the Daria-i-Noor, discovered in India, and weighs an estimated 182 carats.
Pink diamonds are extremely rare and, according to BBC, the same physical attributes that make the stones scarce also make them very tough and not easy to work into shapes.