It has a French name and certainly blue blood: the Bleu Royal diamond will be the highlight of the next Magnificent Jewels auction on November 7 at Christie’s in Geneva. It is a big diamond for being among the few with the color of the sea: it weighs 17.61 carats and is the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Blue gem ever to appear for sale in the history of auctions. The gem has been cut and polished into a perfectly symmetrical pear shape. The diamond, which boasts an intense, vivid blue color and impeccable clarity, is among the rarest ever found. The estimate is between 35 and 50 million dollars. Bleu Royal has been part of an important private collection for 50 years now and it is the first time that the stone, set in a ring, will be put up for sale at auction.
This is a true miracle of nature. Throughout our 257-year history, Christie’s has had the privilege of offering the world’s rarest gems at auction, and Bleu Royal continues this tradition. We are proud to offer collectors the opportunity to own a diamond fit for a king.
Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewelery at Christie’s
Driven by collector demand and an increasingly limited supply, prices for high-quality colored diamonds have increased exponentially in recent years. In auction rooms, Fancy Vivid Blue diamonds over 10 carats are virtually unknown: in over 250 years of auction history at Christie’s, only three of these stones have ever appeared for sale:
• The 10.95-carat Bulgari Blue sold for $15.7 million in New York in October 2010
• The 13.22-carat Winston Blue, sold for $23.8 million in Geneva in May 2014
• The 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue, sold for $57.5 million in Geneva in May 2016
