Editor’s Note
A rare blue diamond fetched nearly $44 million at auction in Geneva, setting a new record for the most expensive piece of jewelry sold this year and entering the top ten most expensive jewels ever sold at auction.
A rare blue diamond was sold for a staggering price of nearly $44 million (approximately 320 million RMB) at an auction in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 7, local time. This is the most expensive piece of jewelry sold this year and ranks among the top ten most expensive jewels ever sold at auction.
According to the Associated Press, the blue diamond, named “Bleu Royal,” weighs 17.61 carats and is the largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever to appear at auction. It was cut and polished into a perfectly symmetrical pear shape and was auctioned mounted on a ring.
Max Fawcett, Head of Jewellery at Christie’s Geneva, which handled the auction, highlighted the diamond’s uniqueness.
An anonymous private collector outbid two other contenders in a fierce seven-minute competition to secure the diamond ring. It was revealed that the winning bid was placed by Isaac Choi, Managing Director of Christie’s South China, on behalf of a telephone bidder under paddle number “9755,” suggesting the buyer is likely from Asia.
This pear-shaped blue diamond had been held in a single private collection for the past 40 years before re-entering the market. The blue color originates from trace amounts of boron within the crystal structure. When diamonds form deep in the earth’s crust, boron atoms randomly mix into the crystal lattice, making such stones exceptionally rare. Statistics show that blue diamonds account for only 0.02% of all diamonds mined, with only 1% of those reaching the highest fancy vivid color grade.
At Tuesday’s auction, Christie’s sold dozens of rare jewels with a total value exceeding $77 million. Max Fawcett commented on the strong market.
In a separate auction, Christie’s also sold a Rolex watch worn by Marlon Brando in the 1979 film “Apocalypse Now” for over $4.99 million.