New world auction records for any diamond of any colour or any gemstone, price-per-carat for any gemstone, and any jewel were set on 11 November 2015 when a sensational 12.03-carat internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond was sold to a private collector from Hong Kong for US$48,468,158 or HK$375,663,913 (US$4,028,941 per carat) at Sotheby’s in Geneva.
Previously called the ‘Blue Moon Diamond’, the record-breaking jewel was renamed ‘The Blue Moon of Josephine’ by the buyer. The exceptional result for ‘The Blue Moon of Josephine’ importantly marks a new auction record price-per-carat for any diamond or gemstone – surpassing the benchmark established just last year at Sotheby’s New York by ‘The Zoe Diamond’ (US$3,348,205 per carat) – as well as a new auction record price for any jewel – a title formerly held by ‘The Graff Pink’ sold in Sotheby’s Geneva in November 2010. This is the first time any diamond or gemstone has reached over US$4 million per carat.
‘The Blue Moon of Josephine’ was the star lot in US$139,085,346 or HK$1.078 billion sale of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction. “I am absolutely delighted with this evening’s record result – this show-stopping blue diamond surely is an once-in-a-lifetime stone. I’m also pleased to say that tonight’s sale takes our total in Geneva for this year to an unprecedented US$300 million, following our record-breaking sale in May. The star of the evening, the ‘Blue Moon of Josephine’ was discovered at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa, which is owned by Petra Diamonds, and was polished to perfection by Cora International. It now takes its place among the world’s greatest diamonds,” said David Bennett, Sotheby’s Worldwide Chairman of Jewellery.
← Back