A particularly rare blue diamond was auctioned in Geneva for more than $40 million, making it one of the most expensive diamonds ever sold at auction. Christie’s announced it. The pear-shaped diamond, set in a ring, has been part of a private collection for decades.
A weight of 17.61 carats
“Blue Royal”, this is the name of the diamond, weighs 17.61 carats and represents the largest vivid blue gem ever to appear on sale in the history of auctions. It was part of a larger lot in a series of luxury auctions in Geneva scheduled for November that also featured objects related to film history, including pearls worn by Audrey Hepburn and Marlon Brando’s self-engraved watch .
The auction between three buyers
Before the auction, experts predicted that the Bleu Royal would fetch between 35 and 50 million dollars. After the bidding competition, which lasted approximately seven minutes and involved three potential buyers, the precious object was sold by an anonymous private collector for the total sum of 39.505 million Swiss francs (43.8 million dollars), including taxes and commissions. “We are extremely satisfied,” commented Max Fawcett, head of jewelery at Christie’s in Geneva. The blue diamond, the expert later confirmed, sold for nearly $2.5 million per carat, making it “the most expensive jewelry lot sold in all of 2023” by any auction house globally. Overall, he concluded, it is one “among the top 10 most expensive lots ever sold in terms of jewellery”.
Source-tg24.sky.it