A 16-carat fancy vivid pink, up for sale

The 16.08-carat fancy vivid pink diamond has even color distribution, balanced saturation and tone, and a straight pink hue, Christie’s said.The 16.08-carat stone is set in a platinum ring and surrounded by a double row of white diamond pavé, further accented by a third row of small, pink diamonds underneath, hidden from top view. There also small, circular-cut white diamond set into the band.

Christie’s will take the diamond on tour around the world, showcasing the stone in Hong Kong, New York and London before it is offered for sale on Nov. 10 in Geneva.

The auction house said when it comes to pink diamonds, most exhibit a color modifier like purple, orange, brown or gray. This 16.08-carat stone, however, “shows absolutely no trace of a secondary color, making it exceedingly rare and attractive,” and its Type IIa classification means there is little to no nitrogen in the diamond.

What’s more, when it comes to diamonds in the fancy vivid pink range, stones of 5 or 6 carats are “rarely encountered” in the sale room and those weighing more than 10 carats are “virtually unheard of,” Christie’s said.

“As large and rare colored diamond of this caliber become increasingly hard to locate, this 16.08-carat fancy vivid pink diamond comes to market at a time when great gems are mirroring prices achieved for masterpieces in the world of fine art,” said Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s international head of jewelry.

Pink diamonds have achieved high prices at auction in the past few years, among them the “Princie Diamond,” a 34.65-carat cushion-cut fancy intense pink diamond that sold for $39.3 million in April 2013.

In June 2014, a 5.50-carat fancy vivid pink diamond topped its pre-sale high estimate by $2 million when it sold for $9.6 million, and just a few months later, an 8.41-carat fancy vivid purple-pink diamond realized $17.8 million.

“Collectors are looking to jewels as savvy investments that are both beautiful and can appreciate considerably in value over a relatively short period of time,” Kadakia said.