Bulgari Pink diamond ring sells for 12.1 million francs at Christie's Geneva sale

The sale

Christie's sold the 24-carat emerald-cut "Bulgari Pink" in Geneva on Tuesday, 10 November, for 12.1 million Swiss francs, which AP put at more than $14.6 million. The ring was the headline lot of the auction house's seasonal jewelry sale. Before the sale it was expected to fetch 10 to 15 million francs, or $12 to $18 million, so the result landed in the middle of that range. Max Fawcett, Christie's global head of jewelry, had called the stone "the Mona Lisa of pink diamonds" ahead of the auction. Also offered that day was a private collection of nearly 300 twentieth-century jewels, including works by Bulgari, Cartier and Graff.

The stone

Christie's classed the diamond as fancy intense pink and type IIa, a purity category the house said covers only about 2% of diamonds. Its origin is believed to be the Golconda mines in southern India, which also produced the Koh-i-Noor and the Hope Diamond. According to Christie's, an ancestor of the previous owner bought the rough stone in India, and Bulgari cut it before it was set in a platinum ring. AP reported that the stone had stayed with the same family since it was bought in the 1950s. One German report said the seller's great-grandparents had taken the stone to Bulgari's workshops in Rome.

Expected low10

Expected high15

Sale price, 10 November12.1

Expected low

10 million CHF

Expected high

15 million CHF

Sale price, 10 November

12.1 million CHF

Data from the article text

Buyer and plans

Christie's did not disclose the buyer, in line with its usual practice. Fawcett told dpa that the ring will be given as a gift and will be worn rather than kept in a vault. He used the "Mona Lisa" comparison as a metaphor for how beautiful the diamond is, referring to its purity and transparency. Fawcett said that above 10 million francs the pool of potential collectors is relatively small. He added that all parties were satisfied with the result.

Price in context

The hammer price sat below the 15 million franc high estimate that Swissinfo reported. German outlets converted the price to about 13.1 million euros, while AP gave the dollar equivalent as more than $14.6 million. The sale fell within the 10 to 15 million franc range that Christie's had set expectations around. The same Geneva auction also included the private collection of nearly 300 pieces, which Spiegel described as pieces from the twentieth century.