Editor’s Note
A rare 17.61-carat blue diamond, known as the “Bleu Royal,” has set a new record, selling for CHF 39.5 million (approx. €41 million) at Christie’s Geneva. This article details the historic auction of one of the world’s most exceptional gems.
A rare blue diamond set in a ring was sold for 39.505 million Swiss francs (approximately €41 million) at a Christie’s auction in Geneva on Tuesday.
The 17.61-carat pear-shaped diamond, named Bleu Royal, is described as a “Fancy Vivid Blue” gemstone. Christie’s stated that the Bleu Royal is “among the rarest ever unearthed” and is “the largest internally flawless Fancy Vivid Blue gemstone ever to appear at auction.”
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) described the pear-shaped diamond as “internally flawless.” The gemstone measures about two centimeters at its longest point. It is set in 18-karat rose gold, flanked by two smaller diamonds weighing 3.12 and 3.07 carats.
Christie’s had set an estimate for the diamond between $35 million (approximately €33 million) and $50 million (approximately €47 million). Prior to the sale of the Bleu Royal, only three Fancy Vivid Blue diamonds over ten carats had been sold in Christie’s over 250-year history. The most expensive of these was the 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for $57.5 million (approximately €54 million) in 2016.
The Bleu Royal had been part of a private collection for the last 50 years and was offered at auction for the first time on Tuesday.
The overall “Magnificent Jewels” auction in Geneva, which also included brooches, watches, and a Cartier tiara from around 1955, realized a total of 69.9 million Swiss francs (approximately €72 million).
