This vivid blue diamond is worth P2.4 billion
The “Bleu Royal” has been described as the largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever put up for auction, so it really doesn't come as a surprise that it has sold for a staggering amount -- $43.8 million (P2,453,851,065 based on current exchange rates) to be exact.
Reuters reports that the 17.6 carat diamond - among the rarest ever to be unearthed - was sold at a Christie's auction of rare jewels in Geneva. The diamond was set in a ring and had an estimated value of $50 million before the auction.
Max Fawcett, the head of Christie's jewelry department in Geneva, attributed the demand for the diamond to its deep blue rich color and its unmodified pear brilliant shape.
"It really ticked all the boxes, which is why we managed to excite collectors all around the world, all the way from the Far East, also to America," he said. "We're extremely delighted with the result."
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The “Bleu Royal” is just the latest diamond to fetch high prices at auction over the past few months. Back in June, the “Eternal Pink” diamond, “the most vivid pink diamond ever put up for sale”, sold at auction for $34.8 million or P1,949,635,093 based on current exchange rates. It was expected to sell for at least $35 million months before.
Back in November last year, Christie's sold the Fortune Pink Diamond for $28 million or P1,568,671,914 based on current exchange rates. The Fortune Pink Diamond is the largest pear-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond ever put up for auction.
The sale of the Fortune Pink Diamond followed that of the 11.15 carat Williamson Pink Star which was auctioned in October last year at Sotheby's for $57.7 million or P3,232,584,622 based on current exchange rates.
