“The Mediterranean Blue,” a 10.03-carat cushion-cut fancy vivid blue diamond with VS2 clarity, is one of the most important blue diamonds to come to market in recent years, Sotheby’s said. A U.S. collector paid $21.5 million for the diamond at Sotheby’s Geneva jewelry auction Tuesday.
Geneva—A rare 10-carat fancy vivid blue diamond dubbed “The Mediterranean Blue” sold for $21.5 million during Sotheby’s High Jewelry auction, held Tuesday in Geneva.
It sold for slightly above its pre-sale estimate of approximately CHF 18 million ($20 million).
The auction house said it is the most valuable diamond or jewel sold this year.
The diamond prompted a nearly three-minute bidding battle between two bidders that opened with a bid of CHF 9 million, or about $10.7 million.
The blue diamond ultimately sold to a client on the phone represented by Frank Everett, Sotheby’s vice chairman of jewelry, Americas, on behalf of an American private collector.
“It has been an extraordinary honor to have been entrusted with the early destiny of the only fancy vivid blue diamond of this size and caliber to be offered on the market in some time,” said auctioneer Quig Bruning, Sotheby’s head of jewelry, Americas & EMEA.
“It is undoubtedly the defining stone of the season and ranks among the top blue diamonds we have sold. To witness the excitement it has generated throughout its global exhibition tour, culminating in today’s result, clearly reflects the growing global appetite for rare and impeccable diamonds, and a marked flight to quality among collectors who continue to seek the very best in the world.”
“The Mediterranean Blue” is a Type IIb diamond, a classification Sotheby’s said represents less than 0.5 percent of all diamonds, and its color grade, fancy vivid blue, is the Gemological Institute of America’s highest possible color grading for a blue diamond.
Less than 0.1 percent of diamonds show any evidence of blue color, with an even smaller percentage being graded fancy vivid blue.
The 31.94 carat rough diamond that yielded “The Mediterranean Blue” was unearthed in 2023 from the Cullinan mines in South Africa, the source of the largest faceted colorless diamond in the world, the 530-carat “Great Star of Africa,” as well as other notable fancy vivid blue diamonds.
Among them are the 12.03-carat “Blue Moon of Josephine” that sold for $48.5 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2015 and the 15.10-carat “De Beers Blue,” which achieved HK$451 million ($57.5 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2022.
The rough was studied for more than a year, as fashioning a colored diamond is a challenging task that requires a decision that balances the largest possible size, the best clarity, and the most vibrant face-up color.
Following a meticulous planning and cutting process that lasted six months, it was shaped into a cushion modified brilliant, a cut that Sotheby’s said honors the stone as “a timeless relic and a contemporary masterpiece.”
“The Mediterranean Blue” features a cushion cut that Sotheby’s said accentuates its exceptional saturation and lends the stone a soft, refined look.
Prior to being offered in Geneva, “The Mediterranean Blue” was unveiled as part of Sotheby’s debut exhibition in Abu Dhabi, showcased alongside seven additional diamonds and gemstones collectively worth more than $100 million.
It then went on a tour across the Middle East, Asia, and the United States.
While in the U.S., jewelry designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey, at the request of Everett, designed a brooch around the blue diamond, inspired by the theme of this year’s Met Gala, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
However, the Mediterranean Blue was presented and sold set in a ring, as seen above.
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Sotheby’s High Jewelry auction in Geneva brought in a total of CHF 42 million ($49.8 million). It was 99 percent sold by value and 97 percent sold by lot.
The auction house said it saw “extremely strong” results for colored diamonds and gemstones, as well as strong participation of bidders and buyers from the U.S., the majority group in both categories.
The second-most valuable lot of the auction after “The Mediterranean Blue” was a pair of unmounted cushion-shaped diamonds, weighing 23.88 and 23.76 carats respectively, which realized CHF 3.2 million ($3.8 million).
Two additional blue diamond pieces also found buyers, a 5.83-carat fancy light blue diamond ring, which sold above estimate price for CHF 1.2 million ($1.4 million) and a 4.05-carat fancy blue diamond pendant necklace that sold for CHF 952,500 ($1.1 million).
A 5.83-carat fancy light blue diamond ring
A 4.05-carat fancy blue diamond pendant necklace
Also in the top five lots was a diamond necklace/brooch combination by Van Cleef & Arpels that sold for CHF 1 million ($1.3 million), more than three times its low estimate.
