Sotheby's To Sell Big Blue Diamond

Although overall diamond prices are down, the sales for the big and rare stones are still pretty strong. Petra Diamonds, a miner of stones in Africa, is hoping for a high number for their first sale of a cut and polished stone through Sotheby's. They will be selling a 7.03-carat blue diamond from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. The Cullinan mine has yielded most of the best blue diamonds in the world. The stone has a fancy vivid blue color and is rated internally flawless. Petra decided to sell the stone as cut and polished versus selling the rough as they usually do because they are hoping to get maximum exposure for the gem.

The stone will be shown in Hong Kong, Paris, New York and London before winding up in Geneva for the Sotheby's auction on May 12. It is estimated to sell for as much as $8.5 million. Maybe the stone will appeal to famous diamond dealer Laurence Graff. Last December he picked up the Wittelsbach diamond, a grayish-blue 35.56 carat stone with an impressive historical provenance, for $24.3 million making it the world's most expensive blue diamond.

Most Expensive Diamond

Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Fashion, Luxury, World on January 12th, 2009

Diamond-owners rejoice—even in a recession, diamonds command a hefty price. In fact, the first half of 2008 saw a 32% increase in jewelry sales at Christie’s auction houses when compared to sales in the first six months of 2007. They saved the best for last, however, as the world’s most expensive diamond was sold in December of 2008.

The Wittelsbach is a 35.56-carat blue diamond mined in India. The historic diamond was chosen by King Philip IV of Spain as part of the dowry for his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa. Her suitor, Leopold I, later became Holy Roman Emperor and passed the diamond on to his heirs after she died in 1673. When the Archduchess of Austria married Bavaria’s Crown Prince in 1722, the diamond became known as “Der Blaue Wittelsbacher” (The Blue Wittelsbach) after the Crown Prince’s family.

The world’s most expensive diamond sold for $24.3 million, beating a previous record of $16.5 million for a 100-carat diamond in 1995. While the Wittelsbach is the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction—and likely the most expensive diamond ever sold, period—the world-famous Hope diamond would no doubt put the Wittelsbach to shame were it ever so

World's Most Expensive Diamond Sells For Record Price

It is the ultimate diamond in the rough. And if you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it. A rare and flawless blue diamond has set a record as the most expensive precious jewel of its kind ever sold. The gem, which is 6.04 carats and sparkles with an unusual blue hue, is almost as breathtaking as the price it fetched at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong. It went for an astounding US$7.98 million, or about $US1.32 million per carat.

That easily surpassed the cost of the previous record holder known as "The Hancock Red", which fetched a "paltry" US$926,000 per carat in 1987.

Blue diamonds are rare but not unheard of and the ones in spectacular condition almost always fetch a huge price. Despite this sale, the most famous remains the Hope Diamond, a 45.52 carat monster that has been owned by everyone from King Louis XIV of France to a rich socialite named Evalyn Walsh McLean. It's the largest gemstone of its kind ever found and now resides in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

The new record holder for price isn't quite as large, so how it could manage to reap those sparkling bucks? Experts say it's all in the quality of the cut and the "fancy vivid blue hue", a result of trace amounts of an element called boron in its crystal structure. That makes it worth about 10 times what a regular white diamond would bring.

So who owns this incredible piece of jewelry? A company called Moussaieff Jewellers in London, which specializes in acquiring such rare specimens, ponyed up the money after a private Asian collector decided he needed a little - or in this case a lot more - cash.

Which just goes to show you don't always need yellow to turn a shade of blue into something green.

Most Expensive Diamond Necklaces

An expensive diamond necklace is more than a simple accessory. It’s a statement of opulence that will set members of your family apart for generations. Check out some of the world’s most expensive diamond necklaces.

H. Stern’s Venus Necklace - $3.17 million

This 110-carat diamond necklace features a number of cushion, square and pear-cut diamonds set in 18k noble gold. Even the clasp is exquisite, featuring a 14-point diamond star. This is truly a piece that looks just as good from behind as it does from the front.

The De Beers’ Marie-Antionette Necklace - $3.7 million

From the De Beers High-Jewellery collection, this luxurious necklace features over 181 carats of mixed cut diamonds. Beneath the deep pink diamond (1.84 carats) on the first string are two yellow diamonds (5.24 and 7.06) along the second and third strings. The 8.05 carat pear-shaped white diamond hanging from the fourth string, though, is the showstopper on this beautiful piece of jewelry.

Neil Lane’s Diamond Necklace - $4 million

The 140 carats of diamonds featured on this valuable necklace feature three different cuts—pear, cushion and teardrop. The diamonds are set in platinum along the six strings that make up this necklace.

Garrard’s Heart of the Kingdom Ruby - $14 million

The most expensive necklace in the world features a 40.63-carat, heart-shaped Burmese ruby surrounded by 155 carats of diamonds. Burmese ruby is one of the most sought after varieties of ruby due to its blood-red hue. This gem is particularly valuable due to its extraordinary size—Burmese rubies rarely exceed a few carats!

The most expensive necklace can also be worn as a tiara.