Ceylon Pink Sapphire sets world auction record for a pink sapphire at Christie's Geneva auction

A 9.90-carat natural pink star sapphire of Sri Lanka origin, with a well-defined star, set as the centerpiece of a white-gold ring, surrounded by rows of circular-cut diamonds and seed pearls, appeared at the Sotheby's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Sale, held on April 8, 2013. The ring sold for USD 52,000, which was exactly the upper pre-sale estimate for the lot. The price-per-carat value of this stone works out to USD 5,252.

Even though the image uploaded by Mikegem is described as a pink star sapphire, the image appears to have a violet or purple hue, which are also secondary hues of rubies. This may be a visual distortion, but the intensity of the color is strong enough to define clearly the six rays of the star. In this context, one is not certain whether identifying this stone as a pink star sapphire is justified, even though the origin of the stone is Sri Lanka.

Dear Rashid, this is exactly what has baffled gemstone connoisseurs like you and me, as well as those in the trade and ordinary laymen, ever since the term pink sapphire was introduced with the turn of the 20th-century, and which the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICGA) tried to harmonize in 1989 by adopting a nomenclature that would classify all shades of red color, from the lightest pink shades to blood-red color as rubies.

Another stunning oval-cut Ceylon pink sapphire weighing 19.38 carats, mounted as the centerpiece of a platinum ring within a pear-shaped diamond surround, appeared at Christie's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Sale, held on May 28, 2013, and sold for US$392,191 much above the estimated range of US$155,327 - $232,990. The lot was accompanied by a GGL report certifying the Ceylon/Sri Lanka origin of the stone , with no gemological evidence of enhancement by heating. The price-per-carat value of this stone is US$ 20,237.

Thanks afrojack for the update. This is indeed a stunning Ceylon ruby, sorry pink sapphire, with a perfect oval-cut and good clarity and the characteristic vivid intense purplish-pink color !!!

Another Ceylon pink sapphire weighing 11.90 carats with a perfect oval-cut, good clarity and characteristic purplish-pink color of Ceylon pink sapphires, mounted on a platinum and 18k yellow and white-gold ring, flanked on either side by a trilliant-cut yellow diamond, designed by Mauboussin appeared at Sotheby's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite Sale held on October 5, 2011. A pre-sale estimate of US$ 96,361 - 109,209 was placed on this ring which sold for US$ 141,328 equivalent to a price-per-carat value of US$ 11,876. The lot was accompanied by a GGL report certifying the Ceylon origin of the stone and its natural credentials free of thermal enhancement.

Two more stunning Ceylon pink sapphires appeared at Sotheby's auctions and made a significant impact. One pink sapphire weighing 17.16 carats, with a perfect oval cut and good clarity set as the centerpiece of a platinum and yellow-gold ring, flanked by pear-shaped and baguette-cut diamonds appeared at the Sotheby's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite Sale held on October 8, 2007. A pre-sale estimate of US$ 141,779 - 167,557 was placed on this lot, but the lot remained unsold.

The second pink sapphire weighing 24.54 carats with an elongated cushion-shape and purplish-pink color with good clarity, set as the centerpiece of a gold and platinum brooch, within an openwork frame set with 2 larger marquise-shaped diamonds weighing approximately 2.35 carats, and 2 smaller marquise-shaped diamonds weighing approximately 1.65 carats, accented by old European-cut and single-cut diamonds weighing approximately 1.40 carats, appeared at Sotheby's New York, Important Jewels sale held on September 20, 2011. The lot was accompanied by an AGL report certifying the purplish-pink sapphire is of Sri Lankan origin with no evidence of heat enhancement. The antique brooch designed by McKee Graham in 1904 had a pre-sale estimate of US$ 80,000 - 120,000 placed on it, but sold for a a much enhanced price of US$ 254,500 which was three times the lower estimate and twice the upper estimate. The price-per-carat value of this sapphire is US$ 10,370.

Thanks Peter for your updates.
The price-per-carat values of the Ceylon pink sapphires highlighted so far are as follows :-

1) 49.04-carat, cushion-cut, Ceylon pink sapphire with a vivid purplish-pink color - PPC US$ 41,540
2) 26.19-carat, oval-cut, Ceylon pink sapphire with a intense purplish-pink color - PPC US$ 32,767
3) 13.06-carat, oval-cut, Ceylon pink sapphire with a medium purplish-pink color - PPC US$ 11,839
4) 19.38-carat, oval-cut, Ceylon pink sapphire with an intense purplish-pink color - PPC US$ 20,237
5) 11.90-carat, oval-cut, Ceylon pink sapphire with an intense purplish-pink color - PPC US$ 11,876
6) 24.54-carat, elongated cushion-cut Ceylon pink sapphire with an intense purplish-pink color -PPC US$ 10,370

The average price-per-carat for exceptional Ceylon pink sapphires ( Sapphires 1, 2 and 4 above) are above US$ 20,000. However, the average price-per-carat of a normal Ceylon pink sapphire appears to be around US$ 10,000.

Given this fact, the 17.16-carat, oval-cut Ceylon pink sapphire which remained unsold at the Sotheby's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Sale held on October 8, 2007 has a minimum estimated value of around US$ 170,000, assuming that the sapphire is normal and not exceptional. Hence the pre-sale estimate of US$ 141,779 - 167,557 placed on this pink sapphire is the least possible estimate and seems to be fairly accurate. In this context it is surprising that this pink sapphire ring remained unsold at the auctions.

Eureka !!! The 17.16-carat, oval-cut Ceylon pink sapphire appears again at a Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels Sale six months later in April 2008, not at Hong Kong but New York; this time in an entirely different ring setting. In the previous setting the oval-cut pink sapphire was flanked by clusters of pear-shaped and baguette-cut diamonds, but in the new setting the sapphire was mounted alone as the centerpiece, with several round brilliant-cut diamonds mounted on the hoop of the ring. Another significant difference observed this time was in the pre-sale estimate of the ring. At the Hong Kong auctions the pre-sale estimate placed on the ring was US$ 141,779 - 167,557. However, at the New York auctions, perhaps due to the fact the ring remained unsold at Hong Kong, a significantly lower estimate of US$ 100,000 - 120,000 was placed on the ring. Despite the lower, conservative estimate the ring performed beyond all expectations at New York, realizing its correct market value of US$ 193,000, which is not far from the US$ 170,000 estimated by Lareef.

An exquisitely designed ring by Oscar Heyman & Brothers centered around an 18-carat, cushion-cut, Ceylon pink sapphire, within an octagonal-shaped inner border of calibre-cut square and baguette diamonds, with two large shield-shaped diamonds on either side of this inner border; and an outer border set with smaller pink sapphires cut in a variety of shapes, such as square, rectangular and trapezoids; the shoulders set with baguette-cut diamonds; mounted in platinum, appeared at Sotheby's Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale held in November 2008. A pre-sale estimate of USD 107,000-149,000 was placed on the ring which sold for an enhanced price of USD 240,690, around USD 90,000 more than the upper estimate. The PPC value of this sapphire works out to USD 13,370 which falls approximately within the range of normal Ceylon pink sapphires.

The exquisite design of the pink sapphire and diamond ring is characteristic of Oscar Heyman & Bros. the third generation American jeweler, with an unrivaled reputation for unique craftsmanship. The ring is indeed a masterpiece in jewelry creation. Thanks Joan for highlighting this extraordinary jewelry piece.