What Is the Most Valuable Diamond in the World
The most valuable diamond is generally considered the Pink Star, a 59.60 carat vivid pink diamond that set the record for the highest price ever paid for a gemstone at auction. In 2017, it sold for 71.2 million dollars at Sotheby's Hong Kong, making it the most expensive diamond ever sold at public auction. The stone was originally mined by De Beers in South Africa and later cut and polished by the Antwerp firm Leo Schachter. Its value comes from its exceptional color, size, and clarity, which together place it at the top of global diamond rankings.
Another top contender for the title of most valuable diamond is the Oppenheimer Blue, a 14.62 carat fancy vivid blue diamond that sold at Christie's Geneva in 2016 for 57.5 million dollars. At the time, it became the most expensive jewel ever sold at auction, highlighting how colored diamonds command extreme premiums. The Blue Moon of Josephine, a 12.03 carat vivid blue diamond, sold in 2015 for 48.5 million dollars, further confirming the outsized value of rare colored stones. These sales are tracked by major auction houses and gemological institutes as benchmarks for the most valuable diamonds.
Who Owns the Most Valuable Diamond
The Pink Star is now owned by the Chinese jewelry company Chow Tai Fook, which acquired it through the 2017 Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong. The company renamed the stone the CTF Pink Star and has kept it out of public display, consistent with the practice of major collectors and firms that hold the most valuable diamonds in secure vaults. The Oppenheimer Blue was purchased by an anonymous bidder, a common outcome for high-value colored diamonds sold at major auction houses. Ownership of these stones often remains private, even as the sale prices become public record.
Major diamond trading and cutting companies such as De Beers, Alrosa, and Lucara Diamond Corp are the primary sources of the world's most valuable rough stones. De Beers regularly sells high-value diamonds through its sightholding system, where selected buyers purchase large parcels of exceptional stones. Lucara Diamond Corp recovered the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona rough diamond from its Karowe mine in Botswana in 2015, one of the largest and most valuable gem-quality rough diamonds ever found. These companies control the supply chain that brings the most valuable diamonds from mine to market.
What Makes a Diamond the Most Valuable
The value of the most valuable diamonds is driven by the 4Cs: carat weight, color, clarity, and cut. Color is especially critical for colored diamonds, where vivid saturation and rare hues such as pink, blue, and red dramatically increase price per carat. The Pink Star's vivid pink color and flawless clarity gave it a per-carat price of over 1.2 million dollars, far above the average for white gem diamonds. Gemological institutes such as the Gemological Institute of America provide the grading reports that certify these characteristics and support record auction prices.
Market demand from collectors, investors, and luxury brands continues to push the prices of the most valuable diamonds higher. Auction results from Sotheby's and Christie's are closely watched by industry analysts as indicators of diamond price trends. Major jewelry houses and private collectors compete for exceptional stones, often through sealed bids and private sales that are not publicly disclosed. These dynamics ensure that the record for the most valuable diamond can be broken again as new exceptional stones emerge from mines in Botswana, Russia, and South Africa.