Rare pink diamond sells for $32m

Almost 15-carat Pink Promise sells after a three-minute bidding battle

Christie's auctioneer Rahul Kadakia takes bids at the auction of the Pink Promise in Hong Kong. Keith Tsuji/Getty

A 14.93-carat pink diamond ring sold for about US$32 million at Christie’s in Hong Kong, providing the high-end diamond market with some relief in a volatile auction season.

The oval stone, Pink Promise, set in a ring embellished with smaller diamonds, sold after a three-minute contest. It was estimated to sell for as much as $42m.

The sale follows a choppy auction season in Geneva, where Sotheby’s failed to sell the Raj Pink, a 37-carat stone that was estimated to be worth as much as $30m.

The Raj Pink. Martial Trezzini/EPA

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Pink diamonds are considered among the rarest and most valuable gemstones in the world. Sotheby’s set the record for any gem ever sold at an auction earlier this year, with its $71m sale of the 59.6-carat Pink Star to Hong Kong-based jewellery retailer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group.

The Christie’s auction came just after a vintage Patek Philippe sold for about $2.9m at Phillips in Hong Kong. That’s the highest price a wristwatch ever fetched in an auction in Asia.