This 8.03-carat fancy light blue diamond will be offered at Elmwood’s Fine Jewellery sale on Oct. 1.
London—A historic 8-carat fancy light blue diamond will go under the hammer in London next week as the largest pear-shaped blue diamond ever offered at a British auction.
Elmwood’s will offer the diamond at its Fine Jewellery sale on Oct. 1, where it is estimated to fetch £1.5 million to £2 million ($2 million to $2.6 million).
It is the third blue diamond weighing more than eight carats ever offered at auction in the UK, following the 70.21-carat “Idol’s Eye,” offered at Christie’s in London in 1865 and the historic “Wittelsbach Diamond,” offered at Sotheby’s in London in 2008.
“The combination of this diamond’s 8.03-carat weight, its natural fancy light blue color, VS2 clarity, even color distribution and rare pear-shaped cut makes it an important collector’s jewel,” said Elmwood’s.
The 8.03-carat fancy light blue diamond is set in a ring, which comes from a collector in Scotland, the auction house said.
The piece features concentric borders of round brilliant-cut pink and white diamonds, with the shoulders similarly set with round brilliant-cut white diamonds.
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Blue diamonds are among the rarest types of diamonds, accounting for less than 0.1 percent of all diamonds, said the auction house. Larger sizes, such as the 8-carat stone on offer, are particularly unusual.
Its elongated pear shape and even color are also significant, as cutting colored diamonds requires careful planning and considerable skill to preserve and enhance the diamond’s natural color while achieving maximum brilliance and an even distribution of blue throughout the gem.
A Gemological Institute of America report confirms the diamond has VS2 clarity and no fluorescence.
“An 8.03-carat natural blue diamond is an extraordinary rarity in its own right, but what adds to its allure is its place in British auction history. To offer only the third blue diamond above eight carats ever seen at auction in the U.K. and the largest pear-shaped example, is a remarkable moment for Elmwood’s and for collectors of exceptional colored diamonds,” said Joe Kendrick, head of sale at Elmwood’s auctioneers.
“Coming from a Scottish collector, the ring is a truly once-in-a-lifetime piece. Its combination of size, color, clarity, and elegant pear shape also gives this stone an exceptionally compelling presence and we therefore expect wide interest.”
