Editor’s Note
The Oppenheimer Blue diamond, a stone of unparalleled clarity and brilliance, goes to auction in Geneva this week. Christie’s anticipates a record-breaking sale, as this exceptional gem captures the world’s attention.
Its brilliance and cut allow it to rival the clearest blue eyes. The famous Oppenheimer Blue diamond will attract all eyes this Wednesday evening in Geneva, where the auction house Christie’s hopes for a record price for this exceptional stone.
Estimated between 38 and 45 million dollars, the Oppenheimer Blue could become the most expensive cut diamond in the world. It will certainly be the highlight of the traditional high jewelry sales in May organized by Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
The stone, of a luminous and vivid blue, “fancy vivid blue”—the rarest color for blue diamonds—mounted on a ring, weighs 14.62 carats.
The “Oppenheimer Blue” was part of the collection of the famous London diamond dealer Sir Philip Oppenheimer (1911-1995), who headed the De Beers empire. The stone was extracted from the Premier Mine in South Africa, where the world’s largest diamond, the Cullinan, was discovered in 1905. Having passed through several discreet hands since 1995, the Oppenheimer Blue is being offered at a public auction for the first time.
The current record for a blue diamond is held by the “Blue Moon of Josephine.” Weighing 12.03 carats, it was purchased last November for 31.56 million dollars (27.88 million euros). According to the evening’s auctioneer, the buyer is an Asian collector. This is a record for a vivid pink diamond but at the lowest end of its estimated range.
The diamond market, colored or not, has been soaring for several months.
