The Blue Lagoon is the title of a 1980 film which marked the debut of Brooke Shields. About forty years later the same name returns to the fore: but this time Laguna Blu is the name of the largest blue diamond in a Bulgari jewel, 11.16 carats, auctioned by Sotheby’s. According to the auction house, it will have its world premiere at the Met Gala in New York on May 1, before being displayed and sold at Sotheby’s Geneva Luxury Week from May 12. Estimated price: more than 25 million dollars. The gemstone was created in 1970 and has remained in the same collection ever since, in Europe. It is the first time it has been offered for sale.
The Bulgari Laguna Blu is an extraordinary jewel in every respect. At 11.16 carats, this unmodified pear-shaped blue diamond received the highest grade for a blue diamond from the Gemological Institute of America, recognizing its mesmerizing color and hue. This true marvel of nature was selected by Bulgari, the prestigious Roman jewelery Maison, over fifty years ago, to create a ring for a demanding private collector, who has kept it ever since. The Bulgari Laguna Blu diamond is destined to become every collector’s dream object and we are delighted that it will be presented for the first time on the ever-anticipated red carpet of the Met Gala.
Olivier Wagner, Head of Jewellery, Sotheby’s Geneva
With the blue diamond Sotheby’s completes a trilogy of announcements for the sale of unique and extraordinary colored gemstones following the recent presentation of the Eternal Pink (estimate over 35 million), the most valuable purplish-pink diamond ever to appear at auction, and the Estrella de Fura 55.22 (estimate over 30 million), the largest ruby ever to hit the market, which will be the protagonists of the Magnificent Jewels auction at Sotheby’s in New York on June 8th.
One of the gem’s pluses is its weight of 11.16 carats, exceptional given that blue diamonds are among the rarest. The blue color is the result of the presence of the trace element boron within the carbon structure of the diamond during its formation deep in the earth’s core. Blue diamonds over 5 carats are rare, those over 10 carats even rarer. Any blue diamond qualified as Fancy Vivid, the most brilliant hue a diamond can display, over 10 carats is indeed extremely rare: Fewer than ten Fancy Vivid Blue diamonds over 10 carats have been auctioned anywhere in the world in the last few decades. , four of the sold by Sotheby’s.
Bulgari has mounted the Bulgari Laguna Blu in an elegant and essential ring, exposing all facets of the stone to their best vantage point, demonstrating the jeweler’s ability to maximize the intrinsic beauty of an exceptional diamond. The jewel has remained in the same family since its acquisition in the seventies. It has been seen by few. In the fifty years since the Blue Lagoon was faceted, diamond-cutting technology has advanced to further enhance colored diamonds by faceting them as modified brilliant cuts to increase the perceived saturation of the color. So this 1970 diamond could be even more brilliant.
In addition to the Bulgari Laguna Blu, the same client is offering for sale two other white diamonds signed Bulgari, from the same period in the early 1970s: a pear-shaped diamond weighing 12.08 carats (estimate 600,000-700,000 dollars), and a diamond step cut weighing 18.78 carats (estimate 900,000-1,400,000). Also on sale is a fourth stone signed Pederzani, a pear-shaped white diamond weighing 8.33 carats (estimate 350,000-500,000).
Sotheby’s currently sells the record price for a blue diamond for the De Beers Blue, a 15.10 step cut Fancy Vivid Blue diamond, the largest of its kind ever to appear at auction, sold in April 2022, Sotheby’s of Hong Kong for 57.5 million dollars.
