Aurora Green Diamond Sells for Record Breaking Price of $16.8 Million

On Tuesday’s Christie’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction, the Aurora Green—a 5.03 carat fancy vivid diamond—set two world auction records by selling for $16.9 million.
The diamond is the largest fancy vivid green diamond in the world and had been valued between $16.2 million and $20.1 million, or $3.22 to $4 million per carat. The Aurora Green was purchased by Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, said Christie’s.
The gem set a world auction record for a green diamond and world record price per carat for a green diamond.
Before the auction, Investing News Network (INN) spoke with Yaniv Marcus, a diamond expert and head of the Diamond Investment and Intelligence Centre. Marcus had pointed out that because of its rarity, size, and colour, the diamond had the potential to break the selling price auction—and it did!
After the auction, Marcus said that because the diamond is so unique, it was able to sell while other pieces went unsold.
The previous record holder was auctioned nearly seven years ago, on November 17, 2009 at the Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction. Sotheby’s auctioned a 2.52 carat fancy vivid green diamond for approximately $3.07 million, or $1.222 million per carat. The Aurora Green is double the size at 5.03 carats, and is only the second fancy vivid green diamond to be auctioned off.

Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.