Jewelry News
Rare Blue Diamond Sets Record
October 9, 2009 |
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One lucky buyer took 'feeling blue' to a whole new level by snapping up the most expensive blue diamond ever sold at auction in Asia.
An
anonymous phone buyer was the victor in Hong Kong this week when they won a
bidding war for the most expensive blue diamond ever to be put on the auction
block in that neck of the woods.
Sotheby's Hong Kong hosted the proceedings that witnessed wealthy buyers fighting over the rare blue gem in a bidding war that escalated the price to a record-breaking $7.9 million (HK $43.8 million).
"Only about a handful of such diamonds exist in the world," said Fyzee Thambi, a Hong Kong-based gem dealer, in an interview at the venue on Wednesday.
"That price is a bargain. In better economic times, people would have paid much more for it."
The emerald-cut diamond has the third-highest grade of VVS1, which means it is very slightly flawed, according to Sotheby's.
The New York branch of the auction house holds the per-carat world auction record for any gemstone with its May sale of a 7.03-carat cushion-shaped fancy vivid-blue diamond in Geneva for $14 million.
The buyer? A wealthy property tycoon from - where else? Hong Kong.
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