Editor’s Note
This article reports on the record-breaking auction sale of the world’s largest blue diamond for approximately $57.5 million. The details are based on international media reports.
![[서울=뉴시스] 소더비 경매에 나온 세계 최대 블루 다이아몬드 (사진 출처=CNN) 2022.04.29. photo@newsis.com *재판매 및 DB 금지](https://img1.newsis.com/2022/04/29/NISI20220429_0000986296_web.jpg?rnd=20220429134537)
The world’s largest blue diamond has been sold at auction for approximately $57.5 million (about 72.8 billion won).
According to foreign media reports including CNN on the 28th (local time), the global auction house Sotheby’s announced that the 15.10-carat ‘De Beers Cullinan Blue’ diamond was sold for about $57.5 million (about 72.8 billion won) at an auction held in Hong Kong on the 27th.
This makes it the third most expensive gemstone ever sold at auction, following the ‘Pink Star’ and ‘Oppenheimer Blue’ pink diamonds, which sold for a record $71.2 million (90.1 billion won) in 2017.
The 39.34-carat rough diamond was mined by the British diamond mining company Petra Diamonds from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. It was then purchased and crafted into this blue diamond by the De Beers Group diamond manufacturer.
said Bruce Cleaver, CEO of the De Beers Group, regarding the auction result.
Sotheby’s introduced the gem, stating, “This blue diamond is the largest and most flawless blue diamond ever to appear at auction.” They added,
The diamond received the ‘Fancy Vivid Blue’ grade from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), a quality rating for colored diamonds that places it in the top 1%.
At the auction, four bidders engaged in fierce competition, and the diamond was ultimately won by an anonymous telephone bidder.