It’s been two weeks since the jaw-dropping raid on the Pavilion condo took place and none of us could forget just how many valuable items were seized in that single operation. There were cash, gold bars, watches and jewellery.
After going through sleepless nights, the policemen finally finished counting and estimating the value of these items, except for the jewellery. Well, that’s because the jewels seized are uncommon, which made the estimation process tough and time-consuming.
Image for illustration purposes only | Source: Gemone Diamonds
It was understood that the huge amount of jewels confiscated are in fact rare in the market. As such, jewellery experts don’t really know how to put a price tag on each item.
However, Commissioner Amar Singh who personally led the raid on the condo had requested his team to finish the estimation of the jewellery price before Hari Raya, otherwise they would have to work through the holidays, according to China Press.
So, just how rare is Rosmah’s jewellery collection?
Source: Asia Sentinel
Well, we don’t have the entire list of gems that was confiscated, but we do know that Reuters reported that a rare 22-carat pink diamond necklace was allegedly gifted by Jho Low to Rosmah using money siphoned out of 1MDB.
According to the US Department of Justice, they said the pink diamond alone costs about US$23 million (approx. RM91.9 million) and that it was bought from a renowned jeweller called Lorraine Schwartz in New York.
We did some research and found that pink diamonds are arguably the second rarest diamonds in the world (though some say it’s blue diamonds). Also, pink diamonds are mined almost exclusively in Australia! To determine the price, the intensity of the colour plays a major role, apart from its clarity, cut and shape.
Here’s how the colour of a pink diamond is graded.
- Faint
- Very light
- Light
- Fancy light
- Fancy
- Fancy intense
- Fancy vivid
Needless to say, the more intense or vivid the shade of the pink diamond is, the more expensive it is. Also, pink diamonds are also usually accompanied by a secondary colour such as purplish pink, brownish pink, or reddish pink.
Watch the video below for a better picture.
So, guess which one Jho Low allegedly got for Rosmah?
Here’s what Jho Low texted Schwartz in June 2013, as reported by Reuters.
“Need a 18 carrot (carat) pink heart diamond vivid or slightly short of vivid. On diamond necklace urgent.”
Image for illustration purposes only | Source: Leibish
Yeah, that explains the heart-stopping price of RM91,895,000.
While we’re on this topic, you should also know that the rarest diamonds in the world are actually red diamonds. They are extremely rare and pure red diamonds do not exist or have not been mined so far. The most famous red diamonds ever sold are Moussaieff Red Diamond and Hancock Red Diamond.
Moussaieff Red Diamond | Source: Want to be rich
Hancock Red Diamond | Source: Dmia
Anyway, we hope the officers and jewellery experts can finish estimating the value of these gems soon so that they can celebrate Hari Raya with their loved ones. Frankly speaking, it’d be a lot easier if the owner of the pink diamond would come forward and reveal the price, just saying.
Also read: Here’s Why Rosmah May Have Been The Smartest Investor By Having So Many Birkin Bags
