London--A 5.30-carat fancy deep-blue diamond set a world auction record for price per carat when it sold for approximately $7.3 million, or $1.8 million per carat, at Bonhams in London on April 24.
Graff Diamonds was the buyer of the cushion-cut diamond, set with brilliant-cut, baguette-cut and pavé diamonds in a “Trombino” ring with crafted by Bulgari. The ring was made circa 1965 and soared past its pre-sale high estimate of $1.8 million.
“Blue diamonds, especially those over 5 carats, are extremely rare to see on the market and continue to be highly sought after,” Jean Ghika, director of Bonhams jewelry department for Europe, said.
Fancy deep-blue diamonds are some of the rarest, Bonhams said, structurally very pure and accounting for less than 1 percent of all diamonds mined.
Rarely seen on the market, blue diamonds have been coveted for years. The famous 45.52-carat blue Hope Diamond was purchased by King Louis XIV of France in the late 17th century, and was later stolen during the French Revolution. After being smuggled to London, the stone came to rest in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. from
http://www.nationaljeweler.com/nj/fashion/a/~30842-Blue-diamond-sets-world-auction
