The world is about to witness the largest purple pink flawless diamond – the Sakura Diamond – to ever appear at a live auction sale, Christie’s Magnificent Jewels, in Hong Kong on May 23. We discover its wondrous qualities.

The Sakura Diamond

It’s just as elusive as the fictional Pink Panther. And now, Christie’s is the proud auctioneer of the bewitching Sakura Diamond, a whopping 15.81 Carat, Fancy Vivid Purple Pink Internally Flawless Type lla Diamond Ring (estimate: HK$195-300 million / US$25–38 million), one of the star highlights of the Magnificent Jewels live auction in Hong Kong on 23 May.

This immensely important, eternal masterpiece of nature possesses a number of distinct rare qualities:

Exceptional Rarity: Natural coloured diamonds are among the rarest and most valuable gemstones. In particular, pink colouration in diamonds is caused by the distortion of the molecular lattice which happens at random, making pink diamonds extremely challenging to cut from their rough form.

Enormous Size: As fewer than 10 percent of pink diamonds weigh more than 1/5 of a carat, this Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink diamond is of an unprecedented size of 15.81 carats, which is the largest of its kind (Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink) to be offered at any auction.

Brilliant Colour: According to GIA, only four percent of pink diamonds possess a colour deep enough to qualify as ‘Fancy Vivid’. This magnificent gem is graded ‘Fancy Vivid’ for its perfect display of strong saturation and remarkable pink hue with a secondary colour of purple, resembling the fascinating colour of cherry blossoms — appropriately coinciding with Spring. ‘Sakura’ is the Japanese word for the beautiful cherry blossoms that bloom for a very short period indicating the beginning of spring.

Flawless Clarity: Diamonds are formed deep within the earth’s crust, and the majority of pink diamonds are almost always included. In addition, pink diamonds fall under the rare Type IIa category of diamonds, which make up less than 2 percent of all gem diamonds. (The Sakura Diamon has been graded Internally Flawless, embodying its exceptional rarity and extraordinary optical transparency.

“Christie’s has offered some of the largest and the rarest pink diamonds in history across our global salerooms, highlighted by The Winston Pink Legacy sold in Geneva in 2018 that still holds the auction record per carat for any pink diamond,” says Vickie Sek, Chairman, Department of Jewellery, Christie’s Asia Pacific. “This season we are very honoured to continue this fine tradition by presenting (The Sakura Diamond) in Hong Kong. This exceptionally rare and magnificent wonder of nature represents a unique expression of identity and mesmerising beauty through its enthralling purple pink hue, that will undoubtedly capture the hearts of discerning connoisseurs and collectors worldwide.”