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Sotheby’s HK Expects $19M for Rare Blue Diamond
Aug 20, 2013 3:38 AM
By Sonya Burlan
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RAPAPORT... Sotheby’s is expecting to sell a 7.59-carat, fancy vivid blue diamond for approximately $19 million, or $2.5 million per carat, at its Hong Kong auction on October 7.
The diamond, which has been named ''The Premier Blue'' (pictured), has been graded internally flawless (IF) and brilliant cut by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Sotheby's reported. The auction house added that the diamond is the largest round fancy vivid blue diamond ever graded by the laboratory. The round brilliant cut is rarely used in colored diamonds due to the high level of waste involved in the cutting process, even though it is widely applied to white diamonds to maximize brilliance, Sotheby’s explained.
Quek Chin Yeow, the deputy chairman of Sotheby’s in Asia, said, “Sotheby’s has been entrusted with many important blue diamonds and holds the current per carat price record for fancy vivid blue diamond at auction with the sale of a 6.01-carat fancy vivid blue diamond for $1,686,505 per-carat in Hong Kong in October 2011.”
Other recent important blue diamonds sold at auction have included an emerald-cut, 6.01-carat, fancy vivid blue diamond and pink diamond ring sold by Sotheby's for $10.1 million in October two years ago. This past April, Bonhams London sold a rare 5.30-carat fancy deep blue diamond for $9.5 million at a London auction, or $1.8 million per carat.
The Premier Blue diamond will be previewed across Asia as well as in Geneva, London, New York and Doha before the auction.
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Tags:
blue diamonds, Cullinan Mine, Hong Kong, Premier Diamond, Sonya Burlan, Sotheby
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