Sotheby’s Premiere Blue Diamond Up For Auction, Circa $19 Million

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August 20

Sotheby’s auction has announced that it is selling a 7.59-carat, fancy vivid blue diamond at its Hong Kong auction on October 7th  for approximately $19 million, which is roughly $2.5 million per carat.

The diamond, which has been aptly named “The Premiere Blue Diamond,” has been graded by the GIA as Internally Flawless in clarity. According to Sotheby’s, it is the largest fancy vivid blue to have ever been graded by the laboratory.

The fact that it has been cut to be a round brilliant further intensifies its rarity because fancy colored diamonds are rarely round cut because of the waste factor of diamond rough that is involved. (Photo to the left, courtesy of Rapaport)

According to Rapaport, Quek Chin Yeow, the deputy chairman of Sotheby’s in Asia, indicated that “Sotheby’s has been entrusted with many important blue diamonds and holds the current per-carat price record for a 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. For those of us with a passion for fancy colored diamonds, who can’t afford the price of admission to a Sotheby’s Diamond Auctions, it can be fun to peruse the Inventory of Fancy Colored Diamonds at James Allen.

Fancy Yellow Colored Diamond James Allen

By the way, if you’re wondering what the most expensive fancy colored diamond is at James Allen, it’s this 6.09 carat, SI-1 clarity, Radiant Cut Diamond, which is currently selling for a little more than $331K.

The thing to realize with fancy colored diamonds is that there is a direct correlation to the intensity of color and price, and subtle changes of intensity and color can have a dramatic effect on price.

For instance, you could pick up this 2.01 carat, fancy yellowish-brown, cushion cut diamond for less than five grand! Or this really pretty 1.73 carat, fancy dark orangy-brown, cushion cut diamond for less than $6K, and it looks nice and sparkly!

About the Author

Dive deep into the glittering world of diamonds with Todd Gray, the CEO of Gray Matter Development, LLC. Todd has 35+ years of experience as a diamond buyer and trade consultant. He ghostwrites content for several online vendors and is an avid Freediver, currently exploring the Cenotes of Yucatan, Mexico. Dive into brilliance with Todd Gray!