The Martian Pink Diamond is the largest round pink diamond in the world. This 12.04 carat round fancy pink diamond was taken on a tour of world cities like Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing, Osaka , Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei and Geneva, before it was put up for auction in Hong Kong.
The Martian Pink Diamond was previously owned by a private collector. After doing a lot of market research, the previous owner decided to auction the gem in Hong Kong, because the owner thought that it would fetch the highest prices here. In recent times, it has been noticed that top prices for gems were being obtained in Hong Kong, mainly because millionaires from China and South East Asian countries were very interested in buying diamonds as an investment.
The Martian Pink Diamond was first purchased in 1976. It was named the ‘Martian Pink Diamond by Ronald Winston (a famous US-based jeweller), in honour of the US satellite mission to the planet Mars, which was held in the same year. This diamond is one of only two large round pink diamonds in the world; the other being the 23.60 carat Williamson Pink Diamond, owned by Queen Elizabeth II.
In fact, the Martian Pink Diamond is considered to be extremely rare, mainly because it does not exhibit any trace of a secondary colour. This is quite extraordinary, as most natural pink diamonds usually have the presence of colour modifiers in purple, orange or grey. In addition, the pink diamond has a Type IIa characteristic, which provides it with a high amount of limpidity and intense pink coloration.
It was auctioned for US$ 17.4 million by Christie’s in Hong Kong in May 2012. Prior to the auction, the pink diamond was expected to fetch between US$ 8 million to US$ 12 million. The Martian Pink Diamond was bought by an anonymous collector, who placed a bid over telephone.
Read about other famous diamonds:
- Argyle Pink Jubilee Diamond
- Birks Bubble-Gum Pink Diamond
- Yellow Diamond Ring
- The Centenary Diamond
- The Cullinan I Diamond
- The Millenium Star Diamond
- Other Famous Diamonds and Diamond-Studded Items
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