Flawless blue diamond sells for Dh87.4 million

The world’s largest flawless fancy vivid blue diamond fetched $23.79 million (Dh87.4 million) at a Christie’s auction in Geneva on Wednesday.

The pear-shaped diamond offered on May 14 at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale weighs 13.22 carats and was named the ‘Winston Blue’ by Nayla Hayek, CEO of Harry Winston.

“In January 2013, we purchased Harry Winston and since then my ambition has been to acquire the most desirable and unique gems. When Christie’s announced they were offering the largest flawless fancy-vivid blue the GIA had ever graded, I had to buy it. Today, I am proud to own the most beautiful blue diamond in the world,” she said.

The diamond fetched a world record price of $1.8 million (Dh6.6 million) per carat. Christie’s said in a media statement that its Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale realised a total of $154.2 million (Dh566 million), selling 85 per cent by lot and 94 per cent by value, achieving the highest total ever for jewellery sale in auction history.
The auction house noted that, during the sale, four world record prices were achieved:

Lot 245 - A 76.51 carat light-pink diamond
$10m (Dh36.7 million) world auction record for a light pink diamond
Lot 180 - A 5.50 carat blue-green diamond
$8.6 million (Dh31.6 million) World Auction Record For A Blue-Green Diamond
Lot 224 - A 21.41 carat Russian alexandrite
$1.3 million (Dh4.77 million) world auction record for an alexandrite
Lot 186 - A 49.04 carat pink sapphire
$2 million (Dh7.3 million) world auction record for a pink sapphire
 

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