A blue diamond at an auction house in Hong Kong set one of the highest prices of any diamond on the open market on Wednesday. Sotheby’s confirmed that the “De Beers Blue” diamond sold for $57.5 million.
The diamond, a 15.10-carat step-cut Fancy Vivid blue diamond, is the largest of its kind on the open market, according to the auction house. Before the auction, the diamond was estimated to sell for $48 million.
But the gem is not without battle. The bidding war between the four participants lasted eight minutes before the diamond was sold. The auctioneer who successfully purchased the diamond was an unnamed client represented by Yu Wenhao, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia Jewellery and Watch Department.
“This diamond is one of the finest diamonds De Beers has ever seen,” De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver said in a statement, calling it “extremely rare and unique.”
At $57,471,960, the diamond narrowly missed the record for the highest blue diamond sales ever held by an “Oppenheimer Blue” diamond. The 14.62-carat gem sold for $57,541,779 in 2016, according to Sotheby’s, and is believed to be “close” to the price of “De Beers Blue.”
The record for the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction remains the “CTF Pink Star,” a fancy vivid pink diamond that sold for $71,175,926 in 2017.
“De Beers Blue fascinated me from the moment I saw it. With its intense vibrant color and stunningly beautiful cut, it is a true once-in-a-lifetime gem, and literally my 31 years at Sotheby’s The largest blue diamond ever seen in a career,” chairman Patti Wong of Sotheby’s Asia said in a press release on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s gem was cut from stone taken from the Cullinan mine in South Africa in 2021, according to Sotheby’s. According to the auction house, blue diamonds are considered extremely rare, and the clarity, size, carat and color of “De Beers Blue” make their existence and sale an “iconic event”.