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  • Posts Tagged ‘Auction record for a diamond’

    A NEW WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR A DIAMOND

    Thursday, November 12th, 2015
    The 12.03 carat internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond The Blue Moon of Josephine.

    The 12.03 carat internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond The Blue Moon of Josephine.

    A Hong Kong private buyer set a new auction record for any diamond when he paid US$48.5 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva last night for a 12.03 carat blue diamond. It was promptly named “The Blue Moon of Josephine”.  This was a record for any diamond of any colour, or any gemstone. The price per carat for this internally flawless stone works out at US$4,028,941.  This is the first time any gemstone has reached over $4 million per carat. The sale last night of magnificent jewels and noble jewels brought in US$139,085,346.

    David Bennet, Sotheby’s chairman of jewellery said: “I am absolutely delighted with this evening’s record result – this show-stopping blue diamond surely is a once-in-a-lifetime stone. I’m also pleased to say that tonight’s sale takes our total in Geneva for this year to an unprecedented 300 million dollars, following our record-breaking sale in May. The star of the evening, the ‘Blue Moon of Josephine’ was discovered at the Cullinan Mine, which is owned by Petra Diamonds, and was polished to perfection by Cora International. It now takes its place among the world’s greatest diamonds.”

    The previous auction record for any diamond was held by The Graff Pink (24.78 carats), which sold for US$46.2 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010.