Editor’s Note
A rare 10.3-carat blue diamond, “The Mediterranean Blue,” sold for $21.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva, surpassing its $20 million estimate after intense bidding.
An exceptionally rare blue diamond went under the hammer in Geneva late Tuesday and sold for $21.5 million, auction house Sotheby’s announced.
Bidding started at nine million Swiss francs ($9.6 million). A fierce back-and-forth ensued before the diamond was finally sold for 17.9 million francs to a private US collector whose name was not disclosed, according to Sotheby’s.
The Mediterranean Blue, a brand-new blue diamond recently mined from the legendary Cullinan mines in South Africa, has caused a major stir in the diamond industry since its first announcement in March, the auction house said.
Prior to its final showing in Geneva on Tuesday, it was displayed last month as part of a debut exhibition by Sotheby’s in Abu Dhabi, where it was showcased alongside seven other “exceptional” diamonds and gemstones with a total value exceeding $100 million.
After acting as auctioneer at Tuesday’s event, he described the gem as “undoubtedly the defining stone of the season” and said in a statement that it is “among the finest blue diamonds we have sold.”
Tobias Kormind, head of Europe’s largest online diamond retailer, 77 Diamonds, was less upbeat, describing the sale as “less exciting than expected.”