Top 11 world-renowned pink diamonds

Pink diamonds are one of the rarest treasures on Earth. Did you know that out of the 20 million carats of diamonds mined each year, only 0,1% are pink? Moreover, top quality vivid colored stones are even rarer. 

Thus, such scarce stones cost crazy money at auctions and make everyone talk. Meet the complete guide to the most famous pink diamonds in the world.

The Sakura

• 15.81 ct
• fancy vivid purple-pink

The Sakura is prized not only for its 15.81 ct weight, but also for its clarity – this stone is graded as Internally Flawless. Just for comparison: the majority of pink diamonds are considered to be Slightly Included and look pretty hazy. The purple-pink shade resembles the color of cherry blossom, giving rise to the associations. 

The Grand Mazarin

• 19.07 ct
• light pink

This soft pink diamond was presented to Louis XIV by Cardinal Mazarin in 1661. It became a part of French crown jewels for 225 years, and it was possessed by 4 kings, 4 queens, 2 emperors and 2 empresses. In 1887 the royal treasury was dispersed and the stone disappeared. 

Only in 2017 Jean-Marc Lunel, a Christie’s jewelry specialist, revealed the Grand Mazarin from inside an old parcel paper, while visiting a client’ house. An amazing rediscovery! 

The Perfect Pink

• 14.23 ct
• fancy intense pink

The Perfect Pink is mounted in a ring and flanked on each side by two white diamonds. It was sold for $23 million at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2010. 

The Sweet Josephine

• 16.08 ct
• Fancy vivid pink

This stone is mounted in a ring with a double diamond set hoop. It was sold for enormous  $28.5 million at Christie’s auction in 2015 and set a new world-record price for a jewel of this kind. It was named the Sweet Josephine by its new owner in honor of his 7-year-old daughter. 

The Princie 

• 34.65 ct
• fancy intense pink

Unearthed about 300 years ago in India, this stone was initially owned by the Nizams of Hyderabad. Its first auction took place in 1960 – that time when the gem was commissioned by Van Cleef & Arpels for  £46,000. It was named Princie and even became the center of a party organized by the House on the occasion of its acquisition.

In 2013 Princie was auctioned for the second time and was sold for almost $40 million, becoming the most expensive pink diamond ever auctioned at Christie’s. Until the Pink Legacy in 2018. 

The Winston Pink Legacy 

• 18.96 ct
• fancy vivid pink

Discovered in 1918 in South Africa, the Winston Pink Legacy was a treasure of the Oppenheimer family. 

In 2018 it was placed for Christie’s auction and was bought by Harry Winston for crazy $50.66 million. 

Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s international head of Jewelry, once said about the diamond’s deep color: “You may see this color in a pink diamond of less than one carat. But this is almost 19 carats and it’s as pink as it can be. It’s unbelievable.”

The Noor-ul-Ain diamond 

• 60 ct 

This diamond is also known as “the light of the eye”. It is believed to be the half-brother of the Daria-i-Noor, since they both are believed to be cut from the Great Table diamond. 

The Noor-ul-Ain was presented to Empress Farah Diba on her wedding day with the last shah of Iran. The stone was mounted into a tiara and studded with 324 other diamonds.

Today, this jewelry piece is featured as part of the Iranian Crown Jewels. 

The Daria-i-Noor

• 186 ct
• pale pink

This stone called “the sea of light” is known as the largest cut diamond in the world. Straight from Golconda mines in India, this gem possesses a truly unique and tender color – pale pink. It has an intriguing past and it changed numerous hands in bloody battles. Nowadays, it is featured as part of the Iranian Crown Jewels.

The CTF Pink Star 

• 59.6 ct
• fancy vivid pink

Initially the Steinmetz Pink, this stone was cut from 132.5 ct rough diamond mined from South Africa in 1999. This gem first appeared in public at an official ceremony in Monaco in 2003. 

In 2014 a diamond cutter Isaac Wolf offered about $83.2 million for this diamond at the Sotheby’s auction. He even almost renamed it the Pink Dream, but defaulted on payment. Sotheby’s had to buy the stone back for $60 million. 

In 2017 the Pink Star was sold for $71.2 million to renowned Hong Kong Jewelry Retailer, Chow Tai Fook, who renamed it the CTF Pink Star.

Today the CTF Pink Star holds several records such as being the biggest pink fancy vivid diamond ever discovered, the most valuable pink diamond in the world and the most expensive colored diamond ever sold at an auction. 

The Spirit of the Rose

• 14.83 ct
• Purple pink

This rare and beautiful gem takes its name from the ballet “Le Spectre de la rose” staged in 1911 by a Russian troupe. 

It was cut from the 27.85 ct pink crystal mined by Alrosa in 2017. It became the largest pink diamond ever discovered in Russia. For a whole year it was cut and polished into an oval shape, then it was exposed in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taipei, and finally put up for auction. 

The Graff Pink 

• 23.88 ct
• vivid pink 

This diamond – described as one of the greatest stones ever discovered – was first owned by Harry Winston and spent in his private collection around 60 years. 

One day, Laurece Graff set his eyes on this stone. He purchased it for $46 million, making this diamond the most expensive stone of that time. Later, Graff repolished it, eliminating its 25 natural flaws, and he also managed to increase the intensity of the diamond’s color. 

After weeks of meticulous work, Graff got his internally flawless fancy vivid masterpiece. 

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