Pink Star diamond sells for world record $71.2m

A rare pink diamond sold for a record $71.2 million (€66.8 m illion) in Hong Kong on Tuesday after a five-minute bidding war between three phone bidders.

The “Pink Star”, the largest polished diamond of its kind graded by the Gemological Institute of America, according to Sotheby’s, set “a new record for any diamond or jewel at auction”, the auction house tweeted.

The oval-shaped, 59.60-carat diamond failed to sell in November 2013. The gem fetched a record $83 million but the buyer defaulted on payment.

The previous recoed was helf by the Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for $50 million last May.

Sotheby’s said the buyer was Hong Kong jewellery retailer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery.