The Pink Legacy Diamond is an exceptional 18.96-carat Fancy Vivid Pink stone that made history when it was auctioned by Christie's on November 13, 2018, in Geneva. This remarkable gem fetched $50.3 million, setting a new world record price per carat for a pink diamond at approximately $2.6 million per carat.
The Pink Legacy stands out due to its extraordinary color saturation and intensity, qualities that are rarely found in diamonds of this size. Most pink diamonds display secondary hues such as purple, brown, or grey, but the Pink Legacy is celebrated for its pure, vivid pink hue, making it one of the rarest diamonds in the world. Graded Fancy Vivid Pink by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), this color classification is reserved for fewer than 1 in 100,000 diamonds, marking it as a truly rare gem.
This diamond also falls into the Type IIa category, known for its exceptional chemical purity and absence of nitrogen. Only around 2% of diamonds qualify as Type IIa, meaning they exhibit unparalleled clarity and brilliance. The Pink Legacy is an example of the finest of these diamonds, with no visible inclusions, enhancing its value and desirability.
Formerly owned by the Oppenheimer family, one of the most influential names in the diamond trade, this pink diamond's provenance adds to its prestige. Following its sale, the stone was renamed the Winston Pink Legacy, having been purchased by the famous American jeweler Harry Winston.
The rarity of pink diamonds over 10 carats cannot be overstated. In over 250 years of auction history, only four pink diamonds of this size and color have ever appeared for sale, further underscoring the unique significance of this gem.
The Pink Promise, another notable pink diamond weighing 14.93 carats, sold for $32.48 million in 2017, previously holding the record for price per carat before being surpassed by the Pink Legacy.
Driven by the scarcity of high-quality large pink diamonds and increasing collector demand, the market for such stones has seen a remarkable surge in value over the years. The Pink Legacy, with its combination of historical importance, flawless grading, and extraordinary beauty, stands as one of the most coveted diamonds ever offered to collectors worldwide.
The renowned British jeweler claims the Graff Lesedi La Rona is “the largest, highest color, highest clarity diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).” While diamonds are often said to be a girl’s best friend, understanding these exquisite stones can be daunting. A simple guide to navigating the diamond world is the four Cs: carat weight, color, clarity, and cut. However, these serve only as a starting point in selecting the perfect gem.
The journey of a diamond from rough to polished marvel involves much more than meets the eye. From the extreme efforts of miners who extract these precious stones from some of the harshest environments to the painstaking craftsmanship required to bring out their brilliance, diamonds embody rarity and dedication.
A key player in the world of luxury diamonds, Graff, recently introduced the Graff Lesedi La Rona, a 302.37-carat square emerald-cut masterpiece. This stunning diamond emerged from the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona rough, discovered in 2015 by Lucara Diamond Corp. Acquiring the rough stone was an intricate process, with Graff finalizing the purchase after over a year of negotiations, closing the deal at US$53 million in 2017. This acquisition further solidifies Graff’s reputation as the "King of Diamonds," with its portfolio now including many of the world's most famous gems. The Graff Lesedi La Rona has been awarded the prestigious D color grade, the highest possible by the GIA, a feat particularly rare for a diamond of this size.
While the final value of this gemstone remains undisclosed, it’s expected to set new records in the realm of white diamonds. Known as the largest highest-color, highest-clarity diamond ever certified by the GIA, the 302.37-carat Graff Lesedi La Rona is an extraordinary achievement. Graff’s expert team of gemologists and polishers spent over 18 months crafting this marvel, marking a historic milestone in diamond history.
The Lesedi La Rona, discovered at the Lucara Karowe mine in Botswana, is remarkable not just for its size—equivalent to a tennis ball—but also for its rarity. It is the second-largest quality rough diamond ever found, only surpassed by the iconic 3,016.75-carat Cullinan Diamond, which was mined in South Africa in 1905 and contributed to the British Crown Jewels.
However, transforming this enormous rough diamond into a polished gem was no easy task. Despite Graff’s past experience with large stones, such as a 373-carat diamond from the same rough, Lesedi La Rona posed new challenges. The stone was too large for existing tools, requiring a custom scanner and highly sophisticated imaging software to map its internal structure. Initially, the analysis suggested a 300-carat diamond would be unachievable, but Graff’s founder, Laurence Graff, pushed his team to accomplish what seemed impossible. Through precise planning and cutting-edge technology, they succeeded in creating the world's largest square emerald-cut diamond.
The Lesedi La Rona stands as a testament to human ingenuity and persistence, an unrivaled gem in the diamond world. Its journey from a rough discovery to a polished masterpiece is a story of ambition, skill, and relentless pursuit of perfection.
The Graff Venus is a truly extraordinary diamond, recognized as the largest D Flawless heart-shaped diamond in the world, weighing an impressive 118.78 carats. Unearthed from the Letšeng mine in Lesotho in 2015, this 357-carat rough diamond was transformed into a masterpiece over the course of 18 months. The creation of the Venus required not only advanced technology but also the expertise of Graff’s master diamond cutters, who developed specialized tools to handle the complexities of the stone. The risk of shaping such a large diamond into a heart was immense, but the result is a perfectly symmetrical and flawless gem.#
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has certified the Venus as D color, Type IIa, meaning it is chemically pure and exhibits exceptional clarity and brilliance. This classification is reserved for only the finest diamonds, highlighting its excellent cut and symmetry, with no fluorescence. As a heart-shaped diamond, it carries significant symbolism, representing love, and is unmatched in its beauty and rarity.
Laurence Graff himself called the Graff Venus the most beautiful heart-shaped diamond he had ever seen, a testament to its stunning qualities and the painstaking process behind its creation. In addition to the Venus, 22 smaller diamonds were also cut from the same rough stone, ranging from 0.5 to 15.01 carats, allowing collectors the opportunity to own a piece of this remarkable find.
This diamond's legacy is set to leave an indelible mark in the world of high jewelry, offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors to acquire a symbol of both beauty and craftsmanship.
Using his keen intuition, Laurence Graff sensed the extraordinary potential of the stone. The Graff team dedicated months to studying the diamond, exploring the most exquisite shapes it could reveal. Then, one day, the vision emerged: within the crystal, the perfect heart was waiting to be discovered.
