No one knows where this mysterious diamond pink color comes from, but that mystery determines the high price of these unique gems. No all of them are dizzyingly expensive, and their value depends on a few factors, but it is mainly its rarity.
For instance, the most expensive certified Fancy vivid pink diamonds from the Argyle mine, Australia, reach twenty times the price of white diamonds or at least 30,000 to 100,000 per carat. Believe it or not, the most expensive Pink Legacy is worth millions! So, let’s explore how much is a pink diamond worth.
What are Pink Diamonds?
Pink diamonds are rare, fancy-colored gems with a unique pink shade. This diamond type is the second rarest after a red one, which makes it exceedingly valuable.
Unlike other fancy-colored diamonds, like yellow, orange, red, purple, brown, blue, and green, its color is not a result of a chemical impurity. However, it is unclear what is the exact reason for such uniqueness.
The fact is that it is challenging to find a natural pink diamond so that diamond-admirers can count on only 40 to 50 carats per year.
The Argyle diamond mine located in Western Australia was the primary place for finding pink diamonds for 37 years. At least 90% of these stones came from this place, and only 10% were mined in Russia, Brazil, India, Canada, and South Africa.
Pink diamond Color Intensity Levels
Experts grade pink diamonds value according to the color strength and intensity. According to the GIA grades, you can recognize different kinds, including:
- Faint
- Very light
- Light
- Fancy light
- Fancy
- Fancy intense
- Fancy vivid, fancy dark, or fancy deep
Even though the GIA grades are a standard, you can sometimes find the Argyle color grading system. This pink diamonds’ point scale contains numbers from 1 to 9.
Some stones can have a secondary overtone or color apart from their primary hue, like:
- Orange
- Brown
- Purple
Fancy diamonds with richer and more saturated colors will cost more. It is not easy to assess the pink diamond intensity, and only top-rated experts can do such a detailed evaluation.
Pink Diamond Features That Affect Its Price
Unlike colorless diamonds, with a value based on their carat, cut, color, and clarity (4Cs), the shade of Fancy-colored diamonds directly correlates to their price.
Be prepared that pink diamonds are expensive, but the amount of money you need to set aside for such a stone will depend on each gem’s color combination. For instance, Fancy intense or vivid pink diamonds are precious. Their prices will be higher when secondary color is less represented.
In other words, the purplish-pink diamond will worth more money, while the stone with the brownish tones will be more affordable. Unfortunately, the term ‘affordable’ has an entirely different meaning in this case compared with other gemstones’ prices.
As for carats, the pink diamonds price will exponentially increase related to the carat weight. For instance, a 0.50-carat diamond costs $50,000, while a 2-carat gem with similar other characteristics reaches $500,000.
Since color considerably hides flaws, clarity is not so crucial in pink diamonds compared to colorless gems. So, even diamonds with lower clarity levels will cost a lot. For example, you can found 0.76-carat pink diamond with low clarity that cost $80,000.
Finally, let’s talk about the cut that is vital in colorless diamonds. In this case, the color is more important than brilliance. Therefore, the brilliant round cut, highly appreciated for colorless diamonds, doesn’t fit pink gems.
Those diamonds require heart, marquise, cushion, radiant, or triangle cuts ​for the optimal color shine and hiding flaws.
Pink Diamond Price
The pink diamond prices have increased insanely in the last 20 years, making them highly desired among celebrities and investors. Nowadays, it is a precious asset with an almost guaranteed return.
For instance, their price increased by over 116% from 2010 to 2019. For comparison, blue diamonds’ value increased 81%, and yellow diamonds’ price was only 21% higher in the same period.
The situation will become even tenser in the future because the Argyle diamond mine, the primary source of pink diamonds, stopped working. As a result, you can expect a surge in demand with dwindling supply.
Fancy intense pink diamond market trends
3- to 4-carat pink diamond |
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| Year | Carat | Shape | Color | Price per carat | Total price |
| 2003 | 3.58 | Pear | Fancy intense pink | $115,000 | $412,322 |
| 2007 | 3.86 | Oval | Fancy intense pink | $388,000 | $1.5 million |
| 2010 | 4.59 | Pear | Fancy intense pink | $613,000 | $2.8 million |
As you can see, 3- to 4-carat diamond prices have increased 433% during seven years.
6- to 7-carat pink diamond |
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| Year | Carat | Shape | Color | Price per carat | Total price |
| 2000 | 7.34 | Oval | Fancy intense pink | $204,000 | $1.5 million |
| 2012 | 6.54 | Oval | Fancy intense pink | $1,314,143 | $8.5 million |
The 6- to 7-carat pink diamond prices have skyrocketed by an incredible 544% in twelve years.
Fancy vivid pink diamond market trends
0.5- to 1.5-carat pink diamond |
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| Year | Carat | Shape | Color | Price per carat | Total price |
| 2000 | 1.6 | Round | Fancy vivid pink | $196,250 | $314,000 |
| 2013 | 0.51 | Round | Fancy vivid pink | $663,725 | $338,500 |
The round diamond sold in 2000 was over three times larger than the one sold thirteen years later, but their prices are almost similar. That implies an impressive 238% price increase.
3-carat pink diamond |
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| Year | Carat | Shape | Color | Price per carat | Total price |
| 2005 | 3.1 | Oval | Fancy vivid pink | $592,000 | $1.8 million |
| 2012 | 3.28 | Pear | Fancy vivid pink | $993,000 | $3.2 million |
When you compare two 3-carat pink diamonds sold in 2005 and 2012, you can see a price increase of 67%.
9- to 10-carat pink diamond |
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| Year | Carat | Shape | Color | Price per carat | Total price |
| 2006 | 10.04 | Pear | Fancy vivid pink | $617,500 | $6.2 million |
| 2012 | 9 | Cushion | Fancy vivid pink | $1.75 million | $15.7 million |
Even though the 10.04-carat pear fancy vivid pink sold in 2006 was larger than the cushion stone sold in 2012, the value of the smaller diamond is higher, making the increase of 183%.
Pink Diamonds as an Investment
According to experts, pink diamonds are the best possible investment in the 2020s. Their prices have steadily risen in the last two decades, and they expect an average growth of at least 20% per year due to the Argyle mine closure.
Such a situation will transform pink diamonds from beautiful gems inside the engagement rings into a stable financial investment with low risk and positive returns. Let’s see a few examples.
- 1979 – Fancy light pink diamonds were sold for $10,000 per carat.
- 2014 – The same stones cost $220,000 to $300,000 per carat, making it 22+ times more expensive.
- 1979 – Fancy vivid pink diamonds cost $50,000 per carat.
- 2014 – Their price was in the range of $600,000 to more than $1.75 million per carat.
- 2002 – The average pink diamond price was $13,000 per carat.
- 2014 – The diamond of similar characteristics reached the price of $76,000 per carat.
Two pink diamonds are the most expensive precious stones ever sold at auction worldwide. There is a good reason for that, for sure.
The Most Expensive Pink Diamonds
Some rare fancy pink diamonds were sold in the new millennium, and all prices reached were record-breaking.
- Vivid Pink – When Christie offered a 5.00-carat Fancy vivid pink diamond ring on their auction in 2009, no one could imagine its final price. This potentially flawless gem was sold for an incredible $2.1 million per carat ($10.78 million).
- Graff Pink – Sotheby sold this potentially flawless, 24.78-carat Fancy intense pink diamond in 2010 for $46.2 million. It made it the most expensive gem ever sold at an auction.
- Princie Diamond – In 2013, Christie sold this 34.65-carat Fancy intense pink diamond for $1.1 million per carat or a fantastic $39 million in total.
- Unique Pink – Sotheby sold this 15.38-carat pear-shaped diamond for $31.5 million at auction in 2016.
- Pink Promise – This oval-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond of 14.93 carats was sold for $32.5 million ($2.2 million per carat) in 2017.
- Pink Star – With 59.6 carats, it is the biggest fancy vivid pink diamond of all time sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2017 for $1.2 million per carat.
- Pink Legacy – The new record was established in 2018 when Christie sold this rectangular fancy vivid pink diamond of 18.96 carats for $2.6 million per carat.
The Most Famous Pink Diamonds
With fantastic 186 carats, Daria-i-Noor is the largest and the most famous pink diamond worldwide. It is a part of the Iranian Crown Jewels.
The 60-carat brilliant-cut oval pink diamond Noor-ul-Ain was a centerpiece of the wedding tiara of Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi in 1958.
Queen Elizabeth II got a brooch with a pink diamond as a wedding present. She wore it at Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding.
Ben Affleck proposed to Jennifer Lopez with a pink diamond engagement ring in 2002. Enrique Iglesias followed his example when proposing to Anna Kournikova in 2004.
Finally, Nick Cannon proposed to Mariah Carey in 2016 with an engagement ring containing a 10-carat pink diamond.
Summary
Pink diamonds are rare precious gems mainly found in the Argyle mine, Australia. Their prices are incredibly high and have been growing steadily for decades.
Be sure that the situation will become more dramatic after closing the place that offered 90% of these gems of the world production. Therefore, these diamonds are the best possible investment these days.
