Over the past two decades, with the closure and reduced production of major mining areas, the prices of rare diamonds and gemstones have skyrocketed, intensifying market competition. Collectors from around the world are willing to invest tens of millions of dollars to acquire beautiful jewelry. Some choose to name their high-priced acquisitions, while others gift them to loved ones or family members.
We have compiled a list of jewelry pieces that have fetched astronomical prices at auctions. Today, let’s take a look at the Top 10 most expensive rings in the world:
10
“The Pink Promise” Diamond Ring
Selling price: Approximately $31.86 million
This ring, pictured above, was sold at auction in 2017 for about $31.86 million.
The ring’s centerpiece was originally a 16.21-carat deep pink diamond. Its previous owner had it recut, resulting in the 14.93-carat oval pink diamond seen in the image. The color was enhanced to fancy vivid pink, the highest grade for pink diamonds, with a VVS1 clarity.
09
“The Crimson Flame Star” Diamond Ring
Selling price: Approximately $34.8 million
This ring, shown above, was sold at auction in 2023 for about $34.8 million.
The ring’s main stone is a 10.75-carat fancy vivid purplish-pink diamond, cushion-cut, with internally flawless clarity.
On either side of the main stone, the ring features trapezoid-shaped colorless diamonds.
08
“The Star of Fura” Ruby Ring
Selling price: Approximately $34.8 million
The ring pictured above was sold at auction in 2023 for about $34.8 million, breaking the auction record for rubies and maintaining it to this day. It is the most expensive colored gemstone (non-diamond) ever auctioned.
The center stone, named “The Star of Fura,” is a ruby from Mozambique. The original rough stone weighed 101 carats when discovered in July 2022, making it the largest gem-quality ruby ever found.
In January 2023, FURA, the mining company that owned the gemstone, invited top advisors from around the world to evaluate cutting options for this rough ruby. After extensive research to determine the optimal weight, shape, and cutting direction, master gem cutter Chirapat skillfully cut and polished the ruby in Bangkok into its current 55.22-carat cushion shape.
The significance of “The Star of Fura” breaking through the auction records long dominated by Burmese rubies cannot be overstated.
07
“Bleu Royal” Ring
Selling price: Approximately $43.8 million
The ring shown above was sold at auction in 2023 for about $43.8 million.
The ring’s centerpiece is a 17.61-carat pear-shaped diamond of fancy vivid blue color with internally flawless clarity. It had been treasured by an important private collector for half a century.
On either side of the main stone are colorless pear-shaped diamonds weighing 3.12 and 3.07 carats, both D color and internally flawless.
06
“The Graff Pink” Diamond Ring
Selling price: Approximately $46.2 million
This ring, pictured above, was sold at auction in 2010 for about $46.2 million.
The ring’s main stone is a 24.78-carat fancy vivid pink diamond with VVS2 clarity.
In the 1950s, it was set by Harry Winston in a ring flanked by two smaller diamonds and sold to an anonymous buyer. It reappeared at auction in 2010, where it was acquired by famous jewelry tycoon Laurence Graff.
The diamond had small inclusions near the surface, so Graff had his chief cutter re-cut and polish it, improving its clarity grade by one level to internally flawless. This process reduced its weight by 0.9 carats to 23.88 carats, and it was renamed “The Graff Pink.”
05
“The Blue Moon of Josephine” Ring
Selling price: Approximately $48.46 million
The ring pictured above was sold at auction in 2015 for about $48.46 million. The buyer was Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau.
The ring’s centerpiece is a 12.03-carat fancy vivid blue diamond with an internally flawless clarity, cut in a cushion shape. Lau gifted this ring to his young daughter and named it “The Blue Moon of Josephine” after her English name.
04
“The Pink Legacy” Diamond Ring
Selling price: Approximately $50.37 million
In 2018, the ring shown above was sold at auction for about $50.37 million. The buyer was the renowned jeweler Harry Winston.
The ring’s main stone is an 18.96-carat pink diamond of fancy vivid pink color with VS1 clarity, originally named “The Pink Legacy.” It was mined in South Africa in 1918, first cut in 1920, and had been treasured by the Oppenheimer family ever since.
On either side of the main stone, the ring features shield-shaped diamonds with a total weight of 3.55 carats.
03
“The Oppenheimer Blue” Ring
Selling price: Approximately $57.54 million
This blue diamond ring, pictured above, was sold at auction in 2016 for about $57.54 million, setting a world auction record for a single blue diamond.
The ring’s centerpiece is a fancy vivid blue diamond weighing approximately 14.62 carats, rectangular-cut, with VVS1 clarity. It was previously treasured by the Oppenheimer family and named “The Oppenheimer Blue.”
In the 1990s, Oppenheimer commissioned the famous jeweler Verdura to create a ring with this diamond, which he then gave to his wife.
02
“The Williamson Pink Star” Ring
Selling price: Approximately $57.7 million
The ring shown above was sold at auction in 2022 for about $57.7 million, more than double its estimated price of $21 million.
The ring’s main stone is a pink diamond named “The Williamson Pink Star.” The original rough stone weighed 32.32 carats, and after cutting, the diamond’s weight was reduced to 11.15 carats. It is fancy vivid pink in color with internally flawless clarity. This is the second-largest internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond ever to appear at auction.
On either side of the main stone, the ring features diamonds accented with brilliant-cut pink diamonds.
01
“The CTF Pink Star” Ring
Selling price: Approximately $71.2 million
The ring pictured above was sold at auction in 2017 for the record-breaking price of about $71.2 million, setting a new global auction record for diamonds or jewelry.
The ring’s centerpiece is a 59.6-carat oval-shaped, internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond. The GIA has rated it as the largest internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond in the world.
The entire auction process lasted five minutes, with three buyers participating via telephone. Sotheby’s Asia Chairman Patti Wong noted that Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook ultimately won the auction and renamed the diamond “The CTF Pink Star.”
Dream Rings Unveiled: The Top 10 Most Expensive Rings in the World
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