Top 10 most expensive gemstones ever sold

Christie’s sold an incredibly rare 18.96-carat diamond, the Pink Legacy, for over $50 million, setting a new world record per-carat price

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A Christie's employee displays The Pink Legacy, a 18.96 carat Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond at the Christie's auction house in Geneva

On November 13, 2013, Sotheby’s sold the 59.60-carat "Pink Star" for $83.2 mln to New York-based diamond cutter Isaac Wolf who eventually defaulted on the deal. The Pink Star was mined by De Beers in 1999 in South Africa, and weighed 132.5 carat in the rough

The Oppenheimer Blue, a 14.62-carat vivid blue diamond, became the most expensive jewel ever sold at auction on May 16, 2016. The gem was named after its previous owner, Sir Philip Oppenheimer, the grandson of Ernest Oppenheimer, who built De Beers global monopoly over the diamond industry. The Oppenheimer Blue mined by De Beers in South Africa fetched $58.8 mln at Christies in Geneva. The buyer's identity is unknown

The 12.03-carat Blue Moon diamond was sold on November 11, 2015 at Sotheby’s in Geneva for $48.63 mln to Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau who renamed the gemstone "The Blue Moon of Josephine" in honor of his seven-year old daughter. The diamond was mined by Petra Diamonds in South Africa in January 2014 and weighed 29.62 carat in the rough

The Graff Pink, a rare 24.78 carat pink diamond, was sold for $46.16 mln by Sotheby's auctioneers in Geneva, Switzerland on November 16, 2010. The early history of the diamond is not clear. It was owned by a private collector until 2010 when it was bought by diamond dealer Laurence Graff, who named it Graff Pink

The largest vivid orange diamond, simply called "The Orange" to ever appear at auction was sold for more than $35.5 mln at Christie’s in Geneva on November 12, 2013. The information of the 14.83-carat gemstone’s origin and buyer were not made public

The pear-shaped Fancy Vivid Blue diamond weighing 9.75 carats was sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $32.6 mln. The gemstone was purchased by a Hong Kong resident who named it Zoe Diamond.

The De Beers Millennium Jewel, a 10.1-carat oval blue diamond, was sold at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on April 5, 2016. The gemstone originates from South Africa’s renowned Cullinan Mine. The diamond was unveiled by De Beers in 2000 to commemorate the millennium, and displayed at London’s Millennium Dome. It was the target of an attempted robbery in November 2000, which was foiled by the Metropolitan Police

A nameless vivid pink pear-shaped diamond was sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva for $31.5 mln on May 17, 2016. Media reports said the 15.38-carat gemstone was purchased by an Asian customer

On December 7, 2013, an oval 118.28-carat diamond mined in 2011 in South Africa was sold in Hong Kong for $30 mln

Christie’s sold an incredibly rare 18.96-carat diamond, the Pink Legacy, for over $50 million, setting a new world record per-carat price. Last year, a plum-sized 59.60-karat ‘Pink Star’ diamond went for $71.2 million at Sotheby's in Hong Kong and became the most expensive gemstone ever sold at auction. Before 2010 the most expensive gemstone ever sold at auctions was the deep blue Wittelsbach Diamond. The 35.56-carat diamond originates from the Kollur mines in Andhra Pradesh, India, and was first mentioned in the early 18th century. The diamond was part of both the Austrian and Bavarian crown jewels. On December 10, 2008, the diamond was sold to London-based jeweler Laurence Graff. Media reports said that Graff Graff sold the jewel to the former emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa, for at least $80 mln. TASS presents the list of top ten most expensive jewels sold at auctions.