Large, high-quality pink diamonds occupy a special place in the gemstone world. This November, Sotheby’s Geneva will auction one of the rarest: The Glowing Rose, a 10.08-carat Fancy Vivid Pink diamond that’s more geological miracle than mere precious stone. The sale takes place on 12 November 2025 at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva, with expectations hovering around $20 million.
The timing is interesting. Just six months ago, Sotheby’s sold The Mediterranean Blue for $21.5 million, making it the most valuable diamond or gemstone at auction this year. The Glowing Rose continues this momentum. It’s only the third vivid pink cushion-cut diamond over 10 carats to appear at auction in the past decade.
Why This Diamond Matters
The story starts deep in the Earth’s mantle, where extreme pressure and specific geological conditions created something extraordinary. Pink diamonds get their colour differently from most coloured gemstones. There are no trace elements involved. Instead, minute distortions in the crystal lattice during formation bend light to produce that distinctive pink hue. It’s a quirk of physics and geology that rarely occurs.
And when we say rarely, we mean it. Less than 0.01 per cent of all diamonds are coloured. Of those submitted to the Gemological Institute of America, less than 3 per cent qualify as coloured diamonds. Less than 5 per cent of those are predominantly pink. Do the maths: that’s less than 0.15 per cent of all diamonds graded by GIA.
But it gets more selective. Only a tiny fraction of pink diamonds show colour saturation strong enough to earn the “Fancy Vivid Pink” designation. Most of these weigh under one carat. Vivid pink diamonds make up a fraction of the 0.0001 per cent of the world’s diamond supply.
A Fancy Vivid Pink diamond over 10 carats? You might see one of these once in a generation, if you’re lucky.
The Glowing Rose has another distinction. It’s classified as Type IIa, a rare subgroup that comprises less than 2 per cent of all gem diamonds. These are the chemically purest diamond crystals. They have extraordinary optical transparency, which means light passes through with minimal absorption and maximum brilliance.
From Angola to the Auction Block
The Glowing Rose came from a 21-carat rough diamond extracted in Angola in 2023. It was responsibly mined and traded under the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. For today’s collectors, who increasingly care about where their stones come from, this documented provenance matters. Ethical sourcing isn’t just good practice anymore. It’s essential.
The decision to cut this rough into a cushion-brilliant shape was deliberate. Cushion cuts work particularly well for pink diamonds. The rounded corners and facet arrangements amplify depth and warmth. Gemological studies confirm what the market already knows: cushion cuts bring out the best in coloured diamonds. They maximise both colour saturation and brilliance.
The timing couldn’t be better. Cushion-shaped diamonds are having a moment right now, helped along by high-profile celebrity engagement rings. The Glowing Rose arrives just as public attention peaks on this particular cut. That cultural zeitgeist, combined with the stone’s inherent qualities, positions it perfectly for serious collectors.
The Name Says It All
The Glowing Rose gets its name from something genuinely rare: pure pink colour. Most pink diamonds show secondary hues. You’ll see touches of brown, purple, and orange. Sometimes these modifying colours are desirable. But they dilute the purity of the pink.
Not here. The Glowing Rose presents a wonderfully saturated, pure pink. It radiates.
Jessica Wyndham, Head of High Jewellery at Sotheby’s Geneva, put it this way: “Building on the remarkable success of The Mediterranean Blue, we are thrilled to present another extraordinary fancy coloured diamond, this time an exceptional pink diamond, just over 10 carats in weight. With the current high global demand for rare coloured diamonds, the chance to offer The Glowing Rose, a superb and extremely rare coloured diamond, makes this auction moment truly exciting.”
The Boodles Setting
For the pre-auction exhibitions, The Glowing Rose sits in a presentation mount designed by Boodles. The British jeweller has been around since 1798 and knows pink diamonds as well as anyone. This collaboration makes sense. Both institutions have deep expertise in exceptional gemstones.
Jody Wainwright, Managing Director of Boodles Ltd., said: “Boodles is delighted to partner with Sotheby’s in bringing our distinctive design and exquisite setting to this most spectacular and important of vivid pink diamonds. This is a high watermark in a longstanding relationship we have both enjoyed over very many years.”
The design takes inspiration from the diamond’s cushion shape. Boodles created a geometric star pattern on the collet, set with Argyle pink diamonds that mirror the main stone. The platinum band features baguette and brilliant cut white diamonds flowing around the finger, creating contrast that emphasises the central pink. A subtle chevron of pink diamonds finishes the row of whites, nodding to the collet’s geometry. The pink diamonds are set in Single Mine Origin pink gold, which amplifies their vibrancy against the platinum.
What the Market Says
Pink diamonds have dominated the top end of the auction market for twenty years now. Five of the ten most expensive diamonds ever sold at auction have been coloured diamonds, mostly pinks and blues.
The Argyle mine closure changed everything. That Western Australian mine was the world’s primary source of pink diamonds. Without it, supply from other sources can’t keep up with demand. Prices for top-quality large pink diamonds over 5 carats have climbed exponentially over the past decade.
Sotheby’s has sold some of the most expensive Fancy Vivid Pink diamonds in history. The CTF Pink Star, at 59.60 carats and Internally Flawless, brought $71,175,926 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2017. That’s $1,194,227 per carat. It set the world auction record for any diamond, any gemstone, any jewel.
The Williamson Pink Star holds the record for price per carat. This 11.15-carat Internally Flawless stone sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2022 for HK$453,223,000 (about US$57,736,078). That works out to US$5,178,124 per carat.
More recently, The Eternal Pink, a 10.57-carat Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink diamond, achieved $34,804,500 at Sotheby’s New York in 2023. That’s $3,292,763 per carat. And in 2010, the Graff Pink, at 24.78 carats, sold for $46,158,674 at Sotheby’s Geneva.
These prices establish the context for The Glowing Rose. At 10.08 carats with the highest colour grade and very high clarity, it has the characteristics that drive these extraordinary valuations.
The World Tour
Before Geneva, The Glowing Rose travelled. Singapore first, on 17 and 18 October at Sotheby’s Conrad Singapore Orchard location. Then, Taipei on 23 and 24 October at the Taipei Marriott Hotel. The diamond returns to Geneva for final viewing from 7 to 11 November at the Mandarin Oriental, where the auction happens.
This itinerary reflects how global the market for exceptional gemstones has become. Asian collectors in particular have shown a sustained appetite for rare coloured diamonds. Sotheby’s knows where its buyers are.
What Happens Next
The 12 November auction is about more than selling an exceptional gemstone. It’s offering collectors the chance to own something that required extraordinary geological circumstances to form, luck to discover, and might not appear again for another generation.
The $20 million estimate factors in everything: the stone’s rarity and quality, the current market dynamics, and the track record of comparable sales. For whoever wins the bidding, The Glowing Rose isn’t just an acquisition. It’s assuming stewardship of one of nature’s genuine miracles.
Real rarity gets harder to find. Every category of collectibles faces supply and authenticity challenges. But exceptional natural gemstones are different. They’re intrinsically beautiful and valuable, created by nature over geological time. Human effort can’t increase their quantity.
The Glowing Rose embodies this at the highest level. It’s more than a beautiful object. It’s geological history. It’s a natural wonder that will outlast generations and keep captivating everyone who sees it.
As the auction approaches, the international gemstone community will watch closely. Where will this stone end up? What will the market pay for this combination of rarity, beauty, and geological accident?
Whatever happens, The Glowing Rose has already earned its place in gemstone history. It proves that nature can still create beauty of truly extraordinary rarity.
The discovery of a gem-quality pink diamond of any size is extremely rare. Over the past twenty years, pink diamonds have become some of the most valuable jewels at auction. They represent 5 out of the 10 most expensive diamonds ever sold, mainly coloured diamonds, predominantly pinks and blues.
The Argyle mine closure, combined with limited supply and rising demand, has pushed prices for top-quality large pink diamonds exponentially over 5 carats over the past decade. That sets the stage perfectly for The Glowing Rose to make its auction debut.
Natural pink diamonds get their colour from something invisible to the naked eye: minute distortions in the crystal lattice during formation. It’s an extraordinary quirk that bends light to produce a vibrant colour you won’t find in any other gemstone. At over ten carats, this stone sits among the rarest of the rare, comparable to celebrated pink diamonds that have set records at international auctions.
The Glowing Rose comes from responsible mining practices in Angola. It was traded under the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. In an era where transparency and sustainability matter as much as rarity, this provenance provides the assurance international collectors need.
The cushion cut maximises what makes this diamond special. Its rounded corners and unique facet arrangements amplify the depth and warmth of the colour. Gemological studies and market trends confirm what experienced collectors already know: cushion cuts work best for coloured diamonds. They marry form and fire in a way that heightens visual impact.
This stone has everything a serious diamond collector wants. Wonderfully saturated colour. Very high clarity. And at just over 10 carats, a fabulously rare size for a pink diamond of this quality.
So yes, the auction will draw attention. The international community of collectors, connoisseurs, and enthusiasts will watch to see what price the market assigns to this confluence of rarity, beauty, and geological miracle. The Glowing Rose has already made its mark. It’s proof that nature still surprises us.
*Images: Sotheby’s
