The World’s Most Expensive Diamond Rings
When Ben Affleck proposed to Jennifer Lopez for the second time, all anybody could talk about was her stunning engagement ring, which featured a rare 8.5-carat green diamond and was reportedly worth $5 million. While expensive celebrity engagement rings garner much media attention and are certainly beautiful, most of them don’t compare to the world’s most expensive diamond rings. These exceptional rings have central stones cut from some of the biggest diamonds in the world. While high-quality colorless diamonds are rare, fancy color diamonds are even rarer and, therefore, more expensive. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) assesses these diamonds using a complex color-grading system, paying extra attention to the different nuances and intensity of color. To learn more about the diamond grading system, check out our guide to the types of diamonds. Our roundup of the world’s most expensive diamond rings delves into the different colors, sizes, and price tags of these mesmerizing jewels.
The Pink Star: $71.2 million
At the top of our list is the Pink Star, a solitaire diamond ring with an astonishing 59.60-carat oval-shaped fancy vivid pink Type IIa diamond at its center. Why did the Pink Star command such a high price? For one thing, Type IIa is a rare category of diamonds with no measurable impurities. Another is that in 2016, the GIA graded it as the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink diamond in the world. Less than one percent of the world’s diamonds are classified as a fancy color, and only a handful of them are pink.
Until the Pink Star, the largest fancy vivid pink diamond ever found weighed 20 carats, and diamonds in any color of that size are extremely hard to come by. At almost three times that size, the Pink Star is that much more impressive and rare. In April 2017, Chow Tai Fook, a Hong Kong-based jewelry company, purchased the precious pink diamond ring for $71.2 million at Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. The company renamed it the CTF Pink, after its initials.
The Williamson Pink Star: $57.7 million
The Williamson Pink Star is an 11.15-carat cushion-cut internally flawless fancy vivid pink Type IIa diamond. Experts at Diacore, a rare diamond manufacturer, cut it from a 32.32-carat rough found at the Williamson mine in Tanzania. Then, they mounted it in an 18K rose and white gold setting with colorless trapeze-cut diamonds and light pink, small brilliant-cut diamonds. In October 2022, Sotheby’s sold the Williamson Pink Star at a Hong Kong auction for a staggering $57.7 million. The sale set a record for the highest per-carat price for any diamond or gemstone generally. It also became the second most valuable jewel or gemstone ever sold at auction.
The Oppenheimer Blue: $57.5 million
The Oppenheimer Blue ring features a dreamy 14.62-carat rectangular-cut fancy vivid blue Type IIb diamond. Its name honors Sir Phillip Oppenheimer, owner of the Premier mine in South Africa, where miners found the rough diamond in 1995. Experts estimate the rough diamond’s weight at between 30 and 35 carats. In May 2015, the GIA graded it a Type IIb diamond, a unique category of blue- and gray-toned diamonds. Blue diamonds account for less than a tenth of all diamonds in the world. Only 10 percent of those blue diamonds are larger than a carat, making the Oppenheimer Blue nothing short of a natural phenomenon. In May 2016, the Oppenheimer Blue sold for $57.5 million at a Christie’s auction in Geneva. At the time, it was the largest fancy vivid blue diamond to sell at auction.
The Blue Moon of Josephine: $48.4 million
The Blue Moon of Josephine ring boasts a beautiful 12.03-carat cushion-cut fancy vivid blue diamond. Miners found the original rough diamond in January 2014 at the Premier mine. Experts cut and polished it that same year, and the GIA graded it an Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Blue diamond. The diamond’s original name was Blue Moon, but the Hong Kong businessman who purchased it renamed it Blue Moon of Josephine after his seven-year-old daughter. He won the bidding at a Sotheby’s auction in November 2015 for $48.4 million. At the time, the sale set the record for the highest price per carat for a gemstone.
Graff Pink: $46.16 million
Laurance Graff purchased this 24.78-carat fancy intense pink emerald-cut diamond for $46.16 million at a Sotheby’s auction in November 2010. Before the auction, the public hadn’t seen the diamond in more than 60 years, when the legendary jeweler Harry Winston acquired it. Graff’s master cutters successfully removed 25 inclusions during the recutting process, yielding the 23.88-carat internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond. The house set the diamond in a platinum ring with two colorless, shield-shaped diamonds and named it Graff Pink.
Grace Kelly’s Engagement Ring: $44.3 million
Iconic actress Grace Kelly had two engagement rings from Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The first features diamonds and rubies from the Crown Jewels. Later, the prince commissioned Cartier to make a second ring for her to wear. It features a gorgeous 10.48-carat emerald-cut diamond flanked by two colorless, baguette-cut diamonds in a classic design. He paid $4 million for the ring in 1956, but experts estimate its current worth at $44.3 million. This engagement ring is now part of the House of Grimaldi collection, belonging to the royal family of Monaco.
Bleu Royal: $43.8 million
The Bleu Royal is a significant 17.61-carat internally flawless fancy vivid blue pear-shaped Type IIb diamond. It has a platinum and 18K rose gold setting with two colorless pear-shaped diamonds pointing away from the central stone. According to Christie’s, the Bleu Royal originally was part of a private collection, which explains how it’s been under the radar for nearly 50 years. In November 2023, the rare diamond debuted at a Christie’s auction in Geneva, where it sold for $43.8 million. This was far past the ring’s estimated selling price of $35 million.
Eternal Pink: $34.8 million
The Eternal Pink is a 10.5-carat cushion mixed-cut internally flawless fancy vivid purplish-pink Type IIa diamond. In 2019, De Beers mined the rough diamond, originally weighing 23.78 carats, at the Damtshaa mine in Botswana. After experts cut and polished the diamond, the GIA wrote a letter commenting on its high degree of color saturation, a rare quality among diamonds. This brilliant pink diamond is the central stone of a ring with colorless trapezoid-cut diamonds alongside it. In June 2023, it sold for $34.8 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
The Pink Promise: $32 million
The Pink Promise is a 14.93-carat oval-shaped fancy vivid pink Type IIa diamond. In June 2013, renowned jeweler Stephen Silver purchased the diamond, which originally weighed 16.21 carats. To improve its color grade, he recut it into a stunning 14.93-carat diamond that he named the Pink Promise. Then, he mounted it on a platinum setting that is encircled with a pavé diamond halo. In November 2017, the ring sold for nearly $32 million at Christie’s auction in Hong Kong.
The Laguna Blu: $25.7 million
The Laguna Blu is a magnificent 11.16-carat pear-shaped fancy vivid blue Type IIb diamond. Bulgari originally mounted it with two baguette-shaped diamonds on either side. The ring sat in a private collection for more than 50 years without ever making a public appearance. In 2023, Bulgari reset the Laguna Blu into a gorgeous necklace inspired by the laurel wreaths that Greco-Roman emperors donned. Priyanka Chopra Jones wore the bespoke piece to the Costume Institute Benefit, otherwise known as the Met Gala, the same year. Two weeks after its debut, the diamond fetched $25.7 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva.
The Cullinan Dream: $25.3 million
The Cullinan Dream is a 24.18-carat rectangular mixed-cut fancy intense blue Type IIb diamond. It is named after the original owner of the Premier mine, Thomas Cullinan, where the rough diamond was found in 2014. The sea-blue diamond is the central stone of a ring adorned with two colorless tapered baguette diamonds. In June 2016, the ring sold for $25.3 million at a Christie’s auction in New York.
The Infinite Blue: $25.3 million
The Infinite Blue is an 11.8-carat radiant-cut fancy vivid blue diamond. It has an 18K rose and white gold setting adorned with fancy pink diamonds, which beautifully contrast with the central stone’s azure color. An anonymous buyer purchased the ring in October 2023 for $25.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. This amount was below the estimate, between $26 million and $37 million, but still a significant price for such a gorgeous diamond.
