The 10.09 Fancy Vivid cushion-cut is expected to be the highlight of the auction being held next month in New York.
Renowned fine art auctioneers Christie's have reported that prices for large pink diamonds have soared recently, with four pink diamonds going for over $1 million per carat since late 2009.
Increasing demand and rarity have driven prices, making pink diamonds the most expensive colored diamonds currently on the market.
"Collector demand for large coloured diamonds have never been stronger, especially where pink diamonds of this size and quality are concerned," affirmed Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry at Christie's in New York.
Christie's set a per-carat record in December 2009 for any diamond at auction when the Vivid Pink 5-carat cushion cut diaond sold for over $2.1 million per carat in Hong Kong.
The auction house disclosed that less than 10% of all pink diamonds mined weigh over .20 carats, and even fewer exhibited the deep purple-pink saturation and brilliance as the Fancy Vivid to be auctioned.
The 10.09 carat Fancy Vivid had an richer, deeper hue than a 6.89 carat Fancy Vivid purple-pink diamond that sold for $6.9 million in December. "I have never seen such vivid color in a stone of this size," said Kadakia.
There are only a few mines in the world that produce rough pink diamonds. According to Christie's, out of those stones that are cut an polished, only 1 in about 10 million diamonds have color pure enough to be graded Fancy Vivid.
