The largest known "fancy intense pink" diamond is heading to the auction block next month. The 37.4-carat stone, nicknamed "the Raj Pink" by its current, anonymous owner, will be sold at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva, on November 15.
Gem-quality pink diamonds are extremely rare, making up less than 0.02 percent of all stones evaluated by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
The GIA has characterized this particular stone as "a very bright and ravishing fancy intense pink color."
"For a diamond to display strong, unmodified pink color like that observed in the Raj Pink is rare, particularly at so considerable a weight," cites the organization.
David Bennet, worldwide chairman of the Sotheby's jewelry division, echoed the GIA's statement: "The discovery of any pink diamond is exceptional, but the Raj Pink's remarkable size and intensity of color places it in the rarefied company of the most important pink diamonds known."
Sotheby's is estimating the stone, which appears to have been set into a ring, will sell for $20 to $30 million. The record for a fancy intense pink diamond at auction was set in 2010 with the 24.78-carat Graff Pink diamond, which sold for $ 46,158,674.
