‘De Beers Blue’ - a 15.10-carat step-cut fancy vivid blue diamond, the largest of its kind ever to appear at auction - sold for HK$451 million (approximately US$57.5 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on 27 April 2022.
The stone, also called as ‘De Beers Cullinan Blue’, had been expected to fetch up to US$48 million at pre-sale estimate, while the price achieved at auction is the highest ever achieved for diamonds of any colour, which also makes the stone the third most valuable diamond to sell at auction, Sotheby’s explained.
Petra Diamonds discovered the 39.35-carat rough in April 2021 at its Cullinan mine in South Africa, which is one of very few sources in the world for extremely rare blue diamonds. In July, De Beers and Diacore bought the stone for US$40.2 million, and Diacore manufactured the piece into the final polished.
According to Sotheby’s, ’De Beers Blue’ is the largest internally flawless step-cut vivid blue diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever graded. Blue diamonds of this importance are exceptionally rare, with only five 10-carat+ examples ever having come to auction, none of which have exceeded 15 carats, making the appearance of this flawless gem a landmark event in itself.
The 15.10-carat De Beers Cullinan Blue diamond. (photo: Sotheby’s)
28-04-2022