Jewish Diamond Dealer Isaac Wolf Welches on $83M ‘Pink Star’
Image by sotheby’s
Sotheby’s auction house said it acquired the “Pink Star” diamond, which had fetched a world-record price in November, after its buyer couldn’t pay and defaulted.
New York-based diamond cutter Isaac Wolf outbid three rivals last November to pay 76.3 million Swiss francs ($83.02 million) for the flawless pink diamond in an auction guaranteed by Sotheby’s.
In a post-earnings conference call, the auction house said it reversed the related commission revenue as a result of the buyer default and recorded the pink diamond in inventory at a value of about $72 million.
“We are currently in discussions with the buyer, while also considering other alternatives,” Patrick McClymont, Sotheby’s CFO said on the call with analysts. “In the meantime, we are quite comfortable with our valuation, and see real value in owning the diamond at this price.”
The world-record price for the diamond, which had been renamed “The Pink Dream” after Wolf acquired it, had included a “buyer’s premium,” or commission fees. The diamond’s pre-sale estimate was $61 million.
The 59.60-carat Pink Star was the main attraction at Sotheby’s November jewels sale in Geneva, which was the highest jewelry sale total for a single auction in history – $199.5 million.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
