Blue is the color of the sky and the ocean, representing calm and tranquility, as well as harmony and loyalty.
The discovery of the world's first diamond dates back 3,000 years, but with the exploitation of diamond mines, the collection of colored diamonds did not become popular among wealthy merchants and celebrities until the 20th century.
Blue Diamond, one of the rarest fancy color diamonds, accounts for only 0.1% of global diamond production, most notably from the Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa.
Such diamonds contain boron (Boron) elements inside, which can absorb red, orange, and yellow light, so they appear dark blue to bluish gray, which is defined as Type IIb diamond.
As a result, blue diamonds have a hardness and fire that no other blue gemstone can match, and are the most expensive choice.
"The Zoe Diamond" blue diamond pendant
The bare stone weighs 9.75ct
Hammer price: $32.645 million
Carat price: $3.349 million/carat
Date: 20 November 2014
Location: New York
A 9.75 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond with clarity VVS2 cut in a pear shape and prong-set in platinum base.
On November 20, 2014, at sotheby's "Lady Mellon's Jewelry Collection" auction in New York, a rare 9.75 ct Fancy Vivid Blue diamond sold for $32.65 million, breaking the record for blue diamond auctions.
It is worth mentioning that this auction set a new record for the highest single carat price of diamonds at a price of $3.349 million per carat.
The blue diamond is cut in a pear shape and has reached a perfect level of color and clarity – fancy Vivi Blue grade VVS2 clarity, "with excellent fire in natural light, makes people feel warm, and is undoubtedly a treasure that can go down in the annals of diamond auctions."
As the most eye-catching lot of the competition, seven bidders experienced a 20-minute bid, and the winner was a private collector from Hong Kong, who named the blue diamond "The Zoe Diamond" after the new owner.
In contrast, another lighter-colored 9.15 ct blue diamond sold for only $2.965 million, once again proving the huge influence of color grade on the value of fancy color diamonds.
"Blue Moon" blue diamond
Bare stone weight: 12.03
Hammer price: $48.4 million
Carat price: $4,033,000/carat
Date: November 12, 2015
Location: Geneva
The color grade is Fancy Vivid Blue, which reaches the rare IF internally Flawless level and weighs 12.03ct.
It is worth mentioning that just two days before the purchase of the blue diamond, Christie's auction, the Hong Kong businessman just sold a 16.08 ct pink diamond ring for a record $28.5 million.
「Sweet Josephine」
The center stone is a cushion-cut pink diamond weighing 16.08 ct, a Type IIa diamond in Fancy Vivid Pink with vvs2 clarity and double-circled diamonds around it.
『De Beers Millennium Jewel 4』蓝钻
Loose stone weight: 10.10ct
Hammer price: HK$248 million
Carat price: HK$24,555,500,000 per carat
Date: 06 April 2016
Location: Hong Kong
The 10.10 ct oval blue diamond dropped the hammer and set a record for Jewelry auctions in Asia at the time. This diamond is the largest oval Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ever seen on auction and has been graded by GIA as if internally flawless. In 2000, De Beers launched a rare diamond series, "Millennium", consisting of 11 blue diamonds from the Cullinan Mine in South Africa, and this record-breaking diamond is one of them.
"Oppenheimer Blue", the hammer price of $57.5 million, became the most expensive jewelry item sold in public auction to date, a 4.62 ct rectangular cut Fancy Blue diamond.
"Oppenheimer Blue" blue diamond
Loose stone weight: 14.62ct
Hammer price: $57.5 million
Carat price: $3.933 million/carat
Date: 21 May 2016
Location: Geneva
The blue diamond has a color rating of Fancy Vivid Blue and a clarity of VVS1, making it the largest of its kind in the color class to date.
In the 1990s, Italian designer Verdura designed a "Five Blades" ring specifically for this blue diamond, which was fixed by leaf-shaped prongs, and the diamond is now re-set in the center of a platinum ring with a stepped cut diamond on each side.
The "Oppenheimer Blue" blue diamond originally belonged to Sir Phillip Oppenheimer. He is part of the Oppenheimer family, where the family runs the De Beers mining company and has access to some of the world's rarest diamonds, and the "Oppenheimer Blue" blue diamond is one of the private collections of Duke Phillip Oppenheimer due to its perfect hue, cut proportions and rarity.
There was also a pink diamond at auction, "The Unique Pink", which dropped the hammer for $28 million (excluding commissions).
The buyer of "The Unique Pink" pink diamond is a telephone bidder from Asia, with a commission-free bid of $28 million, and although it has just reached the reserve price of the auction estimate of $28 million to $3800, it still breaks the auction price record for Fancy Vivid Pink teardrop pink diamond.
GIA has identified this pink diamond as a Type IIa diamond with a clarity of VVS2 and is currently set in a simple plain ring set in four prongs. Described by GIA as having "a rare extraordinary beauty," it is also the largest Fancy Vivid Pink drop cut pink diamond on auction record to date.
The "The Sky Blue Diamond" blue diamond ring dropped for CHF 17.113 million at the same year's Sotheby's Jewellery Autumn Auction in Geneva.
The Sky Blue Diamond
Loose stone weight: 8.01ct
Hammer price: CHF 17.113 million
Carat price: CHF 2,136,500 per carat
Date: September 17, 2016
Location: Geneva
The highest-valued item in the venue, chf 14.76 million to CHF 24.59 million, was identified by GIA as a Type IIb diamond in Fancy Vivid Blue blue with clarity rating VVS1 and was set in an Art Deco-inspired ring designed by Cartier.
According to Sotheby's's lot description, this is a Type IIb diamond that has reached Fancy Vivid Blue according to GIA and has a slight gray tone like the color of the sky, so it was named "Sky Blue Diamond".
To accentuate the blue diamond's square, symmetrical cut, Cartier designed it with an Art Deco-inspired band that extends the geometric stepped lines at both ends of the blue diamond to the entire ring. The "clip-set" setting is like a blue diamond hanging between your fingers, allowing more light to enter the diamond, making the fire brighter.
Fast forward to 2019, and there was no particularly amazing blue diamond finished auction for 19 years.
In addition to this 20.08 ct Type IIb type blue diamond rough, it has been sold for a total price of $14.9 million for $741,000 per carat.
29.6ct blue diamond rough
This blue diamond was mined from the Cullinan Diamond Mine in South Africa in September 2019 as a Type IIb diamond. Petra Diamonds said the discovery proves that the Cullinan Diamond Mine remains a significant source of rare blue diamonds and confirms the mine's ability to produce fancy color diamonds in a variety of colors.
In February 2014, Petra Diamonds sold a 29.6 ct rough blue diamond for an average price of $862,800 per carat for $25.6 million, and in April of the same year, the company mined a rare blue diamond rough weighing 122.52 ct for $27.6 million, with an average price of $225,300 per carat.
The Cullinan Diamond Mine is one of the most famous diamond mines in the world, producing the world's largest natural rough diamond, the 3,106 ct Cullinan Diamond. To date, more than 800 diamonds over 100 ct have been mined in this mine, of which 140 are over 200 ct.
On July 9, 2020, a rare 12.11 ct lamina-shaped blue diamond fell on Christie's Hong Kong with a hammer of HK$122 million, well above the estimated value of HK$65 million to HK$95 million, making it the highest-priced item in the market.
Loose stone weight: 12.11ct
Hammer price: HK$122 million
Carat price: HK$10,167 million/carat
Date: July 09, 2020
Location: Hong Kong
This 12.11 ct blue diamond has a slender, olive-pointed outline and has been identified by GIA to fancy Intense Blue and IF clarity. The entire center stone is supported by six delicate gold prongs, highlighting a clear light blue tone, flanked by a teardrop-shaped diamond on each side, echoing the sharp corners of the center stone, and the ring wall is also gorgeously diamond-set.
The Century Blue Diamonds, which have fallen at HK$450 million, are the second-highest-priced blue diamonds ever set in the jewelry circle at the time of the launch of the text week.
「De Beers Cullinan Blue」
Loose stone weight: 15.10ct
Hammer price: HK$450 million (US$57.47 million)
Carat price: HK$39.8 million per carat
Date: April 27, 2022
Location: Hong Kong
「De Beers Cullinan Blue」
Weighing 15.10 ct, this blue diamond was cut in an emerald pattern and was graded by GIA as a Type IIb diamond with IF clarity and Fancy Vivid Blue grades.
「De Beers Cullinan Blue」
The blue diamond, which weighed 39.35 ct before cutting, was discovered in April 2021 in the "C-Cut" area of the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
De Beers Group and American diamond cutter Diacore purchased the rough blue diamond for $40.18 million in July 2021, cut it and officially named it.
Sotheby's said such an important blue diamond is extremely rare, with only five blue diamonds over 10ct on the auction market so far, and "De Beers Cullinan Blue" is the only blue diamond of the same grade that exceeds 15ct.
Notably, the purchase cost of the "De Beers Cullinan Blue" rough was as high as $40 million, and the auction was only $37 million after deducting the seller's 25% commission. Although the transaction price is higher than the valuation, the producer is likely to suffer significant book losses.
A total of 4 bidders bid at the end of the auction, which was purchased by an anonymous bidder after an 8-minute bid, and the transaction price was almost the same as the highest auction record of Blue Diamonds. The current record for the highest auction for blue diamonds was set by Christie's 14.62ct "Oppenheimer Blue" at Christie's Geneva auction in 2016, with a hammer price of $57.6 million.
I am Yang San, FGA · GIC Jewelry Appraiser, Jadeite Appraiser, Diamond Grader, Jewelry Designer.
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