April 28, 1987: A 0.95 ct Fancy purplish red round brilliant-cut diamond, now known as the Hancock Red, sold at Christie’s in New York for $880,000 fetching $926,000 per carat. The price paid for the Hancock Red set a new world record per-carat price for any gem sold at auction and fetched more than seven times the previous record mark for a diamond ($127,000 per carat, paid for a 7.27 ct pink diamond in 1980). Despite eye-visible inclusions, the Hancock Red commanded such a hefty price due to its exceptionally rare natural color.

The diamond was put up for auction by the heirs of a Montana collector, Warren Hancock, who reportedly had purchased it in 1956 for $13,500. The Hancock Red was one of his several fancy-color diamonds that had been mined and cut in Brazil.

The record price fetched for the Hancock Red in 1987 set a record which was not surpassed until October 2007 when Sotheby's sold a 6.04 carat fancy blue internally flawless diamond at auction for $7,981,835.00 U.S. Dollars which is a stunning $1.3 Million U.S. Dollars per carat!

Photograph courtesy of GIA ©Tino Hammid.