Sotheby's buys back $83M 'Pink Star'

Auction house Sotheby's reported that it has acquired ‎the 59.6-carat "Pink Star" ‎diamond for $60 million, after ‎diamond cutter Isaac Wolf failed to pay $83 million for the flawless gem.

Wolf outbid three rivals for the "Pink ‎Star" at the Geneva auction, offering about $83.2 ‎million, which was a world record for any ‎gem sold at auction. Patrick McClymont, Sotheby’s CEO, said that the ‎auction house is still talking with ‎Wolf about the future of the ‎diamond. As a result subsequent buyer default, Sotheby's was forced under its auction contract to buy back the diamond. The diamond is now part of the ‎Sotheby's ‎inventory, valued at approximately $72 million.‎

The ‘Pink Star’ was sourced from a 132.50-carat rough diamond recovered by De Beers in 1999, to be later cut and polished by Steinmetz Diamonds.