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Rare pink diamond to be auctioned, estimated at around $38 million

Rare pink diamond to be auctioned, estimated at around $38 million

An "ultra-rare" pink diamond is set to go under the hammer at auction house Sotheby's, which is estimated to fetch up to $38 million.

The 14.83-carat stone, called the "Spirit of the Rose," will go on sale next month in Switzerland, more than three years after it was discovered in a mine in northeastern Russia, CNN reports.

Taking its name from the 1911 Russian ballet, Le Specter de la rose, the gem was cut from an even larger rough diamond discovered in 2017 by the mining company, Alrosa. Then weighing 27,85 carats, the initial discovery was believed to be the largest crystal rose ever discovered in the country, reports the Telegraph.


It took a year to cut and polish the oval-shaped stone, which will be displayed in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei before arriving in Geneva for the November 12 sale.

According to Sotheby's jewelry division chairman Gary Schuler, the rarity of the diamond is its size and color, which has been graded as "Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink."

The gem is also classified as "flawless", a measure of its clarity, while the stone belongs to a rare subgroup of diamonds that contain little or no nitrogen.

Pink diamonds are rising in value far faster than any other color, according to the nonprofit Fancy Color Research Foundation, which found prices rose 116 percent between 2010 and 2019.

Otherwise, pink stones now account for five of the 10 most valuable diamonds ever sold at auction. /Telegraph/