Christie’s to Auction 14-Carat ‘Oppenheimer Blue' Diamond
March 31, 16
(IDEX Online News) – Auction-house Christie’s has announced that it will auction a 14.62-carat vivid blue diamond – the largest to ever come to auction – and known as the “Oppenheimer Blue.”
The estimate for the stone, once the property of Sir Philip Oppenheimer, a member of the family who formerly controlled the De Beers mining company, is $38 million to $45 million. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) issued the report on the stone, giving it the rare Fancy Vivid grade.
“The Oppenheimer Blue can only be described as one of the rarest gems in the world,” said Christie’s Asia Pacific and China chairman, François Curiel. “It is the gem of gems.”
Earlier in March, De Beers announced that it planned to auction a 10.1-carat oval internally flawless vivid blue diamond, which is expected to fetch as much as $35 million when it goes under the hammer on April 5.
The current world-record holder for the most expensive blue diamond purchased at auction belongs to the “Blue Moon of Josephine,” a 12.03-carat cushion-shaped Fancy Internally Flawless Vivid blue diamond that set a world auction record of $48.4 million in November.
The Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction is set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland on May 18.