Editor’s Note
This article highlights the upcoming auction of “The De Beers Cullinan Blue,” a record-breaking 15.10-carat blue diamond with a potential price tag exceeding $48 million.
One of the most valuable blue diamonds ever to be auctioned could sell for more than $48 million, according to Sotheby’s. Named “The De Beers Cullinan Blue,” it is the largest blue diamond to be offered at auction, according to a Sotheby’s press release published on Wednesday. The 15.10-carat gem will be graded by the Gemological Institute of America, the release stated.
Sotheby’s, which described the diamond as “exceptionally rare,” added that only five gems over 10 carats have appeared at auction. None have exceeded 15 carats, “making the appearance of this flawless gem a historic event in itself.” The rare diamond was found at the Cullinan mine in South Africa in 2021 and has achieved the top classification according to colored diamond grading standards.
The gem possesses exceptional brilliance and is a Type IIb diamond, meaning it contains boron and therefore exhibits a bluish-gray hue, according to the Gemological Institute of America’s website. Less than 0.5% of diamonds belong to this category, the press release noted.
Blue diamonds are coveted for their rarity and stunning coloration, according to the press release. The Cullinan mine has produced numerous gems, including the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond discovered in 1905, the largest diamond ever recorded, according to the Cape Town Diamond Museum in South Africa. The “Blue Moon of Josephine” is a 12.03-carat blue diamond that sold for $48.4 million in 2015, CNN reports.
The diamond still holds the record for price per carat at auction for any diamond or gem, according to the press release. The De Beers Cullinan Blue will be auctioned at a standalone event during Sotheby’s Luxury Week in Hong Kong in late April.
