奇速英语

钻石“粉红之星”拍出7100万美元天价，刷新全球纪录

A rare diamond(钻石) known as the Pink Star has been sold in Hong Kong for more than 71 million dollars (57 million pounds), setting a new world record for any gemstone(宝石) at auction(拍卖). The oval-shaped 59.6 carat stone was bought after just five minutes’ bidding at Sotheby’s. It is the largest polished diamond in its class to go under the hammer.

It sold for 83 million dollars in Geneva in 2013 but the buyer later defaulted. The record until now was held by the Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for 50 million dollars last May. Bidding for the gemstone, which was found by De Beers at a mine in Africa in 1999 and cut over a period of two years, began at 56 million dollars.

Sotheby has said the buyer was Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, which is a famous diamond jewellery retailer in China, starting in Hong Kong and having more than 2000 outlets in the mainland of China, Macau and Hong Kong.

Alexander Breckner, head of diamonds at jewellers “77 Diamonds”, said that the stone was exceptional. It’s the largest pink diamond ever found in the history of humankind. It's an incredible colour to it. And the size alone of the stone already makes it so rare and so beautiful.