1. Graff Pink Diamond
When it comes to jewelry, it’s perfectly normal to pay thousands of dollars for even the smallest pieces. However, The Graff Pink diamond which was sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010, has a completely different story. Pink diamonds are very rare due their beautiful color. The Graff Pink is a 24.78 carat pink diamond that was bought by Laurence Graff. Although the estimate value was around 27-38 million dollars for the Graff Pink, Laurence Graff bought it for 46 million dollars, making it the most expensive diamond ever sold at the time. No wonder why it was named after its owner. Later in 2015, the record was broken by another pink diamond called CTF Pink Star. Chow Tai Fook bought this 59.60 carat diamond for 71.2 million dollars at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. The Pink Star still holds the record for being the most expensive diamond ever sold.
2. Chinese Porcelain (13 cm diameter)
This 900 year-old Chinese porcelain was sold for 38 million dollars! Shattering the world record for Chinese ceramics, the bowl was bought by an anonymous buyer at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. The 13-cm bowl was used for washing brushes in the Northern Song dynasty during 10th century. Who would have thought it would be so well-preserved until today?
3. Marie Antoinette’s Pearl Pendant (15.90 x 18.35 x 25.85mm)
Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France, owned so many precious items during her reign. She sent many of her precious jewels to her family when she realized she will be executed. One of these jewels, a pearl pendant, was sold for 36 million dollars at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2018.This is a world record for a pearl.
4. Flowing Hair dollar (39-40 mm diameter)
It may be less fascinating and not as expensive in comparison to the other items yet, the Flowing Hair dollar is definitely worth mentioning. Dubbed the "Flowing Hair" dollar, the coin features a portrait of Lady Liberty and appeared on the first United States Silver Dollars in 1794 along with other 1758 silver dollars.
It was bought for 10 million dollars at an auction by Las Vegas resident Bruce Morelan in 2013. It still holds the world record for the most ever paid for a rare coin.
5. One Cent Black on Magenta(2.5 x 3.2 cm)
Last but not least, a rare stamp that is more valuable than precious jewels and antique treasures. Imagine a stamp that’s only 0.04 grams and produced only for one-cent that is worth more than 9 million dollars. It is the single most valuable thing in the world by weight and size. The history of this stamp is famous among collectors:
A postmaster in British Guiana asked a local newspaper to print an emergency issue of several stamps as the shipment of a new batch was late. Among them was the British Guiana One-Cent which has the octagonal scrap of magenta paper, bearing a postmark and illustration of a three-masted ship and the colony’s Latin motto, meaning “we give and we ask in return.” It is believed that it’s the only one of its kind still known to exist today.
The buyer of the world’s most famous stamp, and the most expensive ever sold at auction
is none other than the renowned shoe designer Stuart Weitzman.
Weitzman was only 10 years old when he found out about the Magenta stamp. He read about it in one of his comic books, where Donald Duck goes for Magenta stamp hunt to become rich. He must have been impressed by the story as he bought the Magenta stamp at Sotheby’s New York in 2014.