Bleu Royal Diamond Sells for Almost $44m
November 08, 23
(IDEX Online) - The largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever to appear at auction history, sold yesterday (7 November) for CHF 39,505,000 ($43.8m).
The 17.61-carat Type IIb pear brilliant-cut diamond, named Bleu Royal, was offered by Christie's Geneva with an estimate of $35m to $50m.
"It really ticked all the boxes, which is why we managed to excite collectors all around the world, all the way from the Far East, also to America," said Max Fawcett, head of Christie's jewelry department in Geneva. "We're extremely delighted with the result."
The blue diamond is set in a ring with two white diamonds (both Type IIa D / IF, 3.12-cts and 3.07-cts) and had been part of a private collection for the last 50 years.
The record price paid for a blue diamond is jointly held by two gems, which both sold for $57.5m. The fancy-vivid-blue 15.10-carat De Beers Blue sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong in April 2022 for $57.5m, and the 14.6-carat Oppenheimer Blue sold at Christie's Geneva in May 2016.
In October Sotheby's Hong Kong sold another large blue diamond - the Infinite Blue, an 11.28-carat radiant-cut fancy vivid stone for $25.3m.
And in May the 11.16-carat pear-shaped Bulgari Laguna Blu - certified as the highest grade blue diamond ever by the GIA - was auctioned for just over $25m at Sotheby's Geneva.
Pic of Bleu Royal courtesy Christie's