Diamond fetches record-breaking $83.2 million

Another record has been broken in the diamond auction world. The Pink Star sold for a jaw-dropping $83.2 million at the Geneva auction on Nov. 14. This new price is nearly double that of the former record for the most money spent on a diamond at auction, which was $46.2 million. This seems appropriate, as the the other gem weighed 24.78 carats.

The gem

The Pink Star - renamed the Pink Dream by its new owner - is an oval-cut pink fancy colored diamond. It is the largest flawless pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America, giving it another record to its name. When first mined by De Beers in Africa, the rough diamond weighed an impressive 132 carats. The Pink Dream was cut down to 59.6 carats over the course of two years before it was first publicly displayed in Monaco. For visual comparison, the diamond is about the size of a plum.

"It elicits almost a visceral response," David Bennett, the auctioneer, told Bloomberg. "This stone checks every single box in terms of rarity, quality, size and everything. The crown jewels of England, which is one of the greatest jewel cases, does not have a diamond this size or this color."

According to Daily News, the Pink Dream falls into a rare group of diamonds that has the purest crystals and perfect transparency. This subset of gems accounts for only 2 percent of the diamonds in the world.

The auction

The Pink Dream led Sotheby's Geneva auction, which ended up being a hard act to follow. The bidding lasted about five minutes, pitting four people against one another. When three dropped out and the gavel fell, a cheer erupted from the crowd. According to Daily News, as congratulations were passed and staff handed out glasses of pink champagne, the auction room filled with the sounds of the Pink Panther theme song.