AuctionsSep 27, 2023
Antique Jewels Shine at Bonhams LondonAuctionsOct 06, 2023
‘Infinite Blue’ Diamond Falls Short at Auction
The fancy vivid blue diamond was estimated to sell for as much as $37 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
The “Infinite Blue” failed to meet even its lowest auction estimate at Sotheby’s Hong Kong this week.
Hong Kong—The “Infinite Blue” diamond has sold, and at a relative bargain.
The 11.28-carat fancy vivid blue diamond was estimated to sell for between $26 million and $37 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on Thursday.
The diamond fell just short of that range when a buyer paid $25.3 million for the stone at a single-lot sale.
“The Infinite Blue’s beautiful blue hue, elegant cut, and unique physical properties make it one of the most irresistible diamonds to appear on the market,” said Chairman of Jewelry and Watches at Sotheby’s Asia Wenhao Yu.
“Its price not only attests to the resilient demand for top-quality colored diamonds among global collectors but reinforces Sotheby’s superb track record in Asia of selling the world’s gemstones of the rarest kind—with the Infinite Blue now the third most valuable blue diamond ever sold at auction in Asia.”
The 11.28-carat “Infinite Blue” was specifically cut to include the number “8” in its final carat weight, which is an auspicious number in Asia. It is a cut-cornered rectangular mixed-cut diamond.
The most expensive blue diamond ever sold at auction in Asia was the “De Beers Cullinan Blue Diamond,” or “De Beers Blue” for short.
The 15.10-carat step-cut fancy vivid blue diamond sold for $57.5 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong last year and is one of the most expensive jewels ever sold at auction.
Like the De Beers Blue, the Infinite Blue was from Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan mine in South Africa.
Blue diamonds weighing more than 10 carats from the mine are considered extremely rare.
The second most expensive blue diamond sold at auction in Asia was the “De Beers Millenium Jewel 4,” one of a dozen diamonds De Beers assembled on occasion of the turn of the millennium in 2000.
The 10.10-carat oval-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond sold for $31.8 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2016.
Another blue diamond is set to shine later this auction season, when Christie’s Geneva offers the 17.61-carat “Bleu Royal” diamond in November.
Asserting it is the largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond to ever appear at auction, Christie’s has estimated the pear-shaped stone will sell for $35 million to $50 million.
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