The most expensive diamond ever sold at auction is the 59.60-carat Pink Star, bought by Chow Tai Fook for $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017. The same auction house holds the per-carat record: the 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star made $57.7 million in October 2022. Below, we rank the ten highest auction prices we could verify, then add the 2025 and 2026 sales, none of which reached the top ten.
| Rank | Diamond | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pink Star, 59.60 ct pink | $71.2 million | Apr 2017 | Sotheby’s Hong Kong |
| 2 | Williamson Pink Star, 11.15 ct pink | $57.7 million | 7 Oct 2022 | Sotheby’s Hong Kong |
| 3 | Oppenheimer Blue, 14.62 ct blue | About $57.5 million | May 2016 | Christie’s Geneva |
| 4 | Winston Pink Legacy, pink | About $50 million (CHF 50.375 million) | Nov 2018 | Christie’s Geneva |
| 5 | Blue Moon of Josephine, 12.03 ct blue | About $48.5 million | Nov 2015 | Sotheby’s Geneva |
| 6 | Graff Pink, 24.78 ct pink | $46.2 million | 16 Nov 2010 | Sotheby’s Geneva |
| 7 | Bleu Royal, 17.61 ct blue | $43.8 million (CHF 39.5 million) | 7 Nov 2023 | Christie’s Geneva |
| 8 | Princie, 34.65 ct pink | $39.3 million | 16 Apr 2013 | Christie’s New York |
| 9 | Eternal Pink, 10.57 ct pink | $34.8 million | June 2023 | Sotheby’s New York |
| 10 | Mellon Blue, blue | $25.6 million (CHF 20.5 million) | 11 Nov 2025 | Christie’s Geneva |
1. Pink Star: $71.2 million
The Pink Star weighs 59.60 carats and is rated Fancy Vivid Pink. It sold on a Tuesday in April 2017 at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale in Hong Kong for $71.2 million. The buyer was the Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook, which renamed it the CTF Pink. It is still the most expensive jewel of any kind sold at auction.
How we valued it: the price reported on the day of the sale. We have not seen the split between hammer and premium.
2. Williamson Pink Star: $57.7 million
At 11.15 carats this stone sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on 7 October 2022 for HK$453.2 million, or $57.7 million with fees. That works out to about $5.2 million per carat, the highest ever for a diamond or gemstone at auction. Early reports of $49.9 million were the hammer price. The buyer was a private collector.
How we valued it: the final price including buyer’s premium. The hammer price was $49.9 million.
3. Oppenheimer Blue: about $57.5 million
The 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue is the largest Fancy Vivid Blue diamond rated by the GIA ever offered at auction. It sold at Christie’s Geneva in May 2016 after two telephone bidders fought for it. Trade reports gave $57.5 million with fees, and some references quote a lower figure.
How we valued it: the trade-press total with premium, which is the figure used when it set the record at the time.
4. Winston Pink Legacy: about $50 million
Harry Winston bought this pink diamond at Christie’s Geneva in November 2018 for CHF 50.375 million, about $50 million, which was $2.6 million per carat and a record for a pink at the time. The company renamed it the Winston Pink Legacy.
How we valued it: the Swiss franc price with premium, converted to dollars as reported.
5. Blue Moon of Josephine: about $48.5 million
The 12.03-carat blue diamond sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in November 2015 for about $48.5 million. It was renamed the Blue Moon of Josephine and set a per-carat record of roughly $4 million that stood until 2022.
How we valued it: the trade-press price with premium.
6. Graff Pink: $46.2 million
Laurence Graff bought this 24.78-carat emerald-cut fancy intense pink at Sotheby’s Geneva on 16 November 2010 for about $46.2 million. The estimate was $27 million to $38 million. It had not been on the market for roughly 60 years, since Harry Winston sold it, and four bidders competed.
How we valued it: the total with premium, reported as $46,158,674. A wire report converted the Swiss franc price slightly lower.
7. Bleu Royal: $43.8 million
The 17.61-carat Bleu Royal was billed as the largest blue diamond ever offered at auction. After seven minutes of bidding it sold at Christie’s Geneva on 7 November 2023 to an anonymous collector for CHF 39.505 million, about $43.8 million. It was the most expensive jewelry lot of 2023.
How we valued it: the price including tax and fees, as reported. One outlet’s conversion put it at $44.0 million.
8. Princie: $39.3 million
The Princie is a 34.65-carat cushion-cut fancy intense pink from the Golconda mines of India. Christie’s sold it in New York on 16 April 2013 for $39.3 million, below the $45 million expected, which was still a record for a Golconda diamond and for any jewel sold at Christie’s up to then.
How we valued it: the price reported by the auction house after the sale.
9. Eternal Pink: $34.8 million
The 10.57-carat Eternal Pink sold at Sotheby’s New York in June 2023 for $34,804,500 against a $35 million estimate. The hammer price was $30 million.
How we valued it: the total with buyer’s premium.
10. Mellon Blue: $25.6 million
The Mellon Blue sold at Christie’s Geneva on 11 November 2025 for CHF 20.5 million, about $25.6 million, against an estimate of $20 million to $30 million. One report called it the highest-priced jewelry lot at auction in 2025.
How we valued it: the price reported after the sale, in Swiss francs and dollars.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
Only one 2025 or 2026 sale, the Mellon Blue, makes the top ten, and prices are holding up. In 2025 the Mediterranean Blue made CHF 17.9 million, or $21.5 million, at Sotheby’s Geneva on 13 May, then the best diamond result of the year, until the Mellon Blue passed it in November. In May 2026 the 5.5-carat blue-green Ocean Dream sold at Christie’s Geneva for about CHF 13.5 million, or $17.3 million, a record for a stone of its kind and more than double its 2014 price. In the same May 2026 week a 6-carat Fancy Vivid Blue did not sell at Sotheby’s Geneva.
Why 2014’s Guinness figure is gone
The earlier version of this article quoted a 100.10-carat D-color flawless pear-shaped diamond sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in May 1995 for SF 19.86 million, then listed by Guinness as the most expensive diamond. Auction prices for colored diamonds have since passed it many times over, so it no longer ranks. White diamonds also rarely reach pink or blue prices.
What drives these prices
- Color. Nine of the top ten are pink or blue. Rare natural color carries the price, not size alone.
- Size inside the color. A bigger stone of the same grade sells at a higher price per carat, which is why the 59.60-carat Pink Star leads.
- Provenance. Names such as Oppenheimer, Mellon and Winston draw bidders.
- Buyers. Retailers like Chow Tai Fook and Graff buy for prestige and often announce it.
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What is the most expensive diamond in the world?
The Pink Star, 59.60 carats, sold for $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017.
What diamond has the highest price per carat?
The Williamson Pink Star, at about $5.2 million per carat, sold on 7 October 2022 for $57.7 million.
What was the most expensive diamond sold in 2025?
The Mellon Blue, at CHF 20.5 million (about $25.6 million), at Christie’s Geneva on 11 November 2025.
What was the most expensive blue diamond?
By our list, the Oppenheimer Blue at about $57.5 million in 2016.
Are white diamonds as expensive as colored ones?
No. Colored diamonds in pink and blue fetch far higher prices at auction.
Is the Princie still the most expensive diamond?
No. It sold for $39.3 million in 2013 and now ranks eighth.
How we put this list together
We ranked diamonds by the final auction price with buyer’s premium, using auction results and trade reports compiled in an internal valuation model. Prices are approximate and conversions use the rates reported at the time.
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Last updated: October 2026.
