Blacklock

The news of Prince William's and Kate Middleton's engagement eclipsed the news of the purchase of the 24.78 carat fancy intense pink diamond at Sotheby's 'Magnificent Jewels' Geneva auction yesterday.

The incredibly rare diamond was expected to fetch $38 million, however in the end it exceeded all expectations and went for $46 million (GBP 30 million).

This price tag surpasses all previous auction records for rare diamonds and shows the world that in certain spheres there is no such thing as a recession. It really is quite remarkable that in such a climate the guide price is far exceeded.

This event illustrated two things; 1. That demand for such rare stones is sky high amongst the elite. 2. That this stone truly is incredibly rare - probably unlikely to ever be seen again on the open market.

You are probably asking what will happen to the stone now? We would imagine that Graff (the purchaser) will repolish it to make it near flawless, set it within a beautiful piece of jewellery and then sell it on for significantly more money. Hopefully the person for whom it is intended will wear it instead of it sitting in a safe!