The highlight of Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Hong Kong auction, a 14.93-carat Fancy Vivid Pink diamond, was sold for $31,861,000. It made a world-record by per-carat price for any pink diamond over 10 carats. Known as “The Pink Promise Diamond,” the stone is certified as a Fancy Vivid Pink diamond, the most prized color grade of pink diamonds. The sale of the Pink Promise diamond represented a gamble for its owner, an Haute jeweler Stephen Silver. Mr. Silver recut a 16.21-carat Fancy Intense pink diamond in a quest to achieve the rock’s maximum color possible, and the risky re-cutting process resulted in “The Pink Promise.”
Recut of “The Pink Promise”
Stephen Silver bought the first 16.10-carat Fancy Intense pink diamond in June of 2013. He noticed that the rock’s cut made some regions of the stone seem to be washed out. He considered this an opportunity to recut the rock and attain a higher color grade. Over three years, Mr. Silver worked with a master gem-cutter to carefully plot a new cut for the ultra-rare Type IIa pink diamond. He was cutting it down facet by facet to conserve the most carat weight while coaxing the stone to yield the highest possible color. The procedure gambled millions of dollars in weight as hoped. The recut rock failed to increase its color grade. Lastly, a new GIA certificate confirmed that “The Pink Promise” diamond, with 14.93 carats as its new weight, had attained a Fancy Vivid pink color grading with a significantly higher appraisal value. The Type IIa Fancy Vivid pink diamond was evaluated under a flawless VVS1 clarity.
Insights on Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is a Silicon-valley established gemologist, geologist, and philanthropist. He has built a reputation amongst elite bead collectors due to his expertise in diamond and color bead cutting. Apart from the above, he has worked with lots of history’s important colored stones. Stephen Silver has expanded his business in the retail performance of global reach and an integrated fabrication, together with two locations based in and around Menlo Park, California.
Stephen Silver has cultivated a reputation amongst international color bead collectors because of his ability handcraft, design, and secure gemstones and the world’s most exquisite jewelry. Mr. Silver has worked with (and re-imagined) some of the most coveted stones in the world, including a Fancy purplish-red diamond (“The Cranberry”), a Fancy Vivid orange, “The Million Dollar Pumpkin,” & Fancy Vivid blue diamond each varying from 1 carat – 6 carats in size.
“The Pink Promise” represents the next benchmark in Mr. Silver’s gemological career, and his most extensive and most valued stone acquisition project so far. Remarking on “The Pink Promise” and its historical sale, Stephen Silver commented that the work they did on this specific diamond was the most challenging recut where he had been involved, due to the technical difficulty and significant financial risk. It is a privilege, however, to work with a world-class group and have his name connected with one of the world’s exceptional gemstones.
