The Blue Moon diamond has been sold for a record $48 million in Geneva.
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The diamond was found in South Africa past year and was the largest cushion shaped blue stone in the fancy vivid category ever to appear at auction.
In 2013 a diamond known as the Pink Star was sold for what is believed to be a record breaking $83m (£52m) – also at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva. Christie’s said that only three pink stones classified by the Gemological Institute of America as “fancy” and weighing more than 10 carats have been up for sale in 250 years.
Royal jewels, colored gems, and designer items by Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and Harry Winston have been amongst 410 tons that discovered new house owners, bringing $ 139 million.
A fancy vivid purple-pink, pear-shaped diamond ring sold for 13.9 million francs, the second-highest lot of the night.
An unidentified bidder snatched up the 16.08-carat rare gemstone, kicking off a week of auctions that could see another coloured diamond set a new world record.
The Blue Moon – named in reference to its rarity, playing off the expression “once in a blue moon” – topped the previous record of $46.2 million set five years ago by the Graff Pink, Sotheby’s said. A packed room broke into applause after the hammer came down at a price of 43.2 million Swiss francs, excluding fees – within the pre-auction estimate range of about 34 to 54 million francs. He specified the price as $48,468,158.
The distinctive blue colour of the gemstone can be attributed to trace amounts of the element boron in the crystal structure.
Then a 29.62-carat rough diamond, it was bought by New York-based Cora global which spent six months cutting and polishing the Blue Moon.
Keaten reported from Geneva.
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Corrects to show that pink diamond was auctioned by Christie’s instead of Sotheby’s.
