The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Pink Star Shatters Records

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JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

I wrote here recently about the scheduled sale of the Pink Star Diamond, one of the rarest pink diamonds in the world. Yesterday, the diamond was auctioned in Hong Kong, and the results were staggering.

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Bidding for the stone at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong began at $56 million. After only five minutes of bidding, the gemstone was sold for $71.2 million, making it the most expensive gemstone ever sold at auction. The BBC reports that “the record until now was held by the Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for $50m last May.”

Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

Press information from Sotheby’s named the gemstone’s new owner as the Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer Chow Tai Fook. The stone has been sold multiple times before; an American buyer bid $83 million on the stone in 2013, but that transaction was never completed. You can read much more about the diamond’s history in our previous post!

Charles and Camilla in Italy: Vatican Visit

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Tim Rooke – Pool / Getty Images

After arriving in Rome on Tuesday, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall popped over to the Vatican for an official visit with Pope Francis.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Camilla changed her outfit, switching to a golden Anna Valentine ensemble. She also swapped her brooch for one of her signature pearl choker necklaces. This four-stranded choker features an elaborate diamond clasp with a cross design.

ALESSANDRO BIANCHI/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s a better look at the outfit, taken during a tour of the Vatican’s secret archives.

Tim Rooke – Pool / Getty Images

Charles and Camilla brought Pope Francis a basket of goodies from the Highgrove estate. Rebecca English reported that Charles quipped, “It’s difficult to know what to give Your Holiness.”

Festive Earrings for Kate on Opening Night

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Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

For the opening night of 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal in London, the Duchess of Cambridge debuted a festive, fun pair of earrings.

Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

With her red Marchesa Notte dress, Kate wore Kate Spade New York’s Pretty Pom Tassel Earrings. You can see the earrings peeking out from beneath her hair in the photo above.

Here’s a photo of the earrings themselves. They’re made of silk threads embellished with glass crystals and gold-plated metal, and they’re available in several colors. The earrings retail for $98.

Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

And here’s a look at Kate’s entire ensemble for the evening.

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The event was a fundraiser for one of Kate’s patronages, East Anglia Children’s Hospices.