Fierce Bidding Pushes Blue Diamond Price Up to $6.4M

A number of high bidding prices and a biding war marked the results of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale on Wednesday, totaling $52.4 million. The diamond Rivière necklace, the top-selling item, sold for $6.7 million, followed by a 5.16-carat pear-shaped internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond purchased for $6.4 million.

The Rivière necklace is set with 50 D color internally flawless brilliant-cut diamonds ranging from 1.50 to 6.55 carats, with a total weight of 107.43 carats.

The star of the evening was the fancy vivid blue diamond, one of the 11 blue diamonds that were part of the De Beers Millennium Jewels Collection. Sotheby’s reported fierce bidding for the diamond that eventually sold to Moussaieff of London for a high $1.24 million per carat.

According to Quek Chin Yeow, head of Sotheby’s Hong Kong jewelry department, buyers and collectors in the current market are driven by the search for perfection and rarity, proven by the vigorous competition from bidders from across the world and included private collectors and traders.