A rare blue diamond was sold at auction in Geneva for $21.5 million. It caused a fierce struggle at the auction. The precious stone was purchased by a private American collector, whose name is kept secret. This is reported by UNN with reference to France 24.
Details
According to the publication, a bright blue diamond weighing 10.3 carats with an estimated value of $20 million caused a fierce struggle at the auction. They started at nine million Swiss francs ($10.8 million). But in the end, the diamond "went" under the hammer for 17.9 million francs ($21.5 million). The winner of the auction was a private American collector, whose name is not named, Sotheby's reported.
What is known about the diamond
The Mediterranean blue diamond, recently mined from the legendary Cullinan mines in South Africa, has caused a huge stir in the diamond industry since it was first presented in March, the auction house said.
Last month, it was presented as part of Sotheby's debut exhibition in Abu Dhabi, along with seven other "extraordinary" diamonds and precious stones worth a total of more than $100 million.
"At the top of the pyramid of rarity are blue diamonds," Quig Bruning, head of jewelry at Sotheby's in North America, Europe and the Middle East, said at the Abu Dhabi exhibition.
After the auction, he noted that this gem is "undoubtedly the defining stone of the season" and added that it "is among the best blue diamonds we have sold."
Tobias Cormind, head of Europe's largest online diamond jewelry store "77 Diamonds", was less optimistic, calling the auction "less impressive than expected."
"The diamond really exceeded its estimate of $20 million, which indicates significant interest. But broader uncertainty, including current trade tensions between the US and China, may have weakened buyer confidence and dampened what might have been a more frenzied atmosphere," he noted.
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