Editor’s Note
A historic Royal Blue diamond, preserved for over three centuries and passed through four European royal families, will be unveiled to the public and auctioned for the first time this May.
A Royal Blue diamond, which has been preserved for over 300 years and passed through four European royal families, will be offered at auction for the first time this May.
According to the UK’s Daily Mail on the 1st (local time), a 6.16-carat blue diamond (pictured) that has been preserved and passed through four European royal families for 300 years has been unveiled to the public for the first time. Ahead of its auction this May, the Hong Kong auction house Sotheby’s has displayed the diamond in its exhibition hall.
This pear-shaped blue diamond was first mined 300 years ago from the Golconda mine in India, which was then the world’s only diamond mine. It later came into the possession of Elizabeth Farnese (1692–1766), the second queen consort of Spain’s Philip V, in 1715, and became known as ‘The Farnese Blue’.
Subsequently, as descendants of Queen Farnese married into other European royal families, the diamond was passed down through seven generations across the royal families of Spain, France, Italy, and Austria. It was once used in the decoration of the crown of Marie Antoinette (1755–1793), the queen consort of Louis XVI.
Blue was perceived as the ‘color of kings’ in 17th-18th century Europe, making blue diamonds regarded as the supreme heirlooms of royal families.
The diamond’s whereabouts had been unknown as the royal families who owned it kept it solely in their private jewel boxes. However, it has now been made public as the current owner, a descendant of Spain’s Queen Elizabeth Farnese, has decided to sell it for the first time.
After being exhibited in Hong Kong, London, New York, Singapore, and Taipei, it will be auctioned in Geneva on May 15. The current highest estimated price is $5.27 million (approximately 5.6 billion KRW).
