< Historic Diamonds / Famous Diamonds
Diamond Hall of Fame: The $58 Million De Beers Blue Diamond
A record-breaking blue diamond that redefined the auction market.
Courtesy of Sotheby’s Auction House
After the 15.10-carat De Beers Blue Diamond sold for $57 million at Sotheby’s auction house on February 16, 2022, the stone went down in history as one of the largest of its kind to ever appear at auction. Its sale remains one of the most significant blue diamond transactions of the 21st century, underscoring sustained global demand for ultra-rare natural diamonds.
“This diamond ranks as one of the best De Beers has ever seen,” commented Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers Group. “It is extremely rare and unique, and as the ‘Home of Diamonds,’ De Beers is pleased to join together with Sotheby’s to bring this diamond to the world.”
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- Jane Asher is a social media manager with a passion for pop culture.
- She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Washington University in St. Louis.
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How Much Did the De Beers Blue Diamond Sell For?
On February 16, 2022, Sotheby’s auction house officially sold the De Beers Blue Diamond for a whopping $57 million, over 20% more than its estimated value. It was originally estimated to sell at $48 million, but with all its inherent rarity, the stone exceeded expectations. The final hammer price translated to approximately $3.8 million per carat, placing it among the most valuable blue diamonds ever sold at auction.
Even years later, the sale is frequently referenced alongside other benchmark blue diamond transactions, reinforcing its enduring market significance.
Where Was the De Beers Blue Diamond Discovered?
The rough diamond was discovered in April 2021 at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa, a historic source known for producing some of the world’s most important blue diamonds.
The Cullinan Mine has also yielded other legendary stones, reinforcing its reputation as one of the only consistent sources of large, high-quality blue diamonds.
Where Does the De Beers Blue Diamond Rank Among Famous Blue Diamonds?
The Fancy Vivid Blue diamond is the largest of its kind to ever appear at auction. Weighing in at 15.10 carats, the De Beers Blue Diamond was cut from an exceptional rough stone discovered in April 2021. Only five 10-carat+ blue diamonds have ever come to auction before, and none have ever been as big as this.
The Millennium Blue diamond is among the exclusive list of five 10-carat blue diamonds to hit the auction block, weighing in at 10.10 carats and selling at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2016, achieving the highest price for a jewel sold in Asia at the time. Also among the most impressive Fancy Vivid Blue diamonds is the 12.03-carat cushion-shaped Blue Moon of Josephine, which sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2015.
Another important benchmark is the 13.22-carat Winston Blue, which sold at Christie’s Geneva in 2014 for $23.8 million. At the time, it was the largest Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ever sold at auction, setting the stage for the record-breaking blue diamonds that followed.
The Apollo diamond, renamed with its Fancy Intense Pink pear-shaped twin as the “Memory of Autumn Leaves,” also makes the list. The 14.54-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond was sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2017.
The 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue diamond held the title as the largest Fancy Vivid Blue diamond to ever appear at auction when it sold at Christie’s in Geneva in 2016, for $57.5 million.
What Makes the De Beers Blue Diamond So Exceptionally Rare?
The De Beers Blue Diamond has been graded Fancy Vivid Blue by GIA, the highest possible color grading, given to less than 1% of all blue diamonds submitted. It also boasts exceptional clarity and polish, having been given an ‘Internally Flawless’ grading and categorized as a Type IIb by GIA, a rare category that represents less than 0.5 % of all diamonds. Type IIb diamonds are prized not only for their rarity but also for their unique boron content, which causes their distinctive blue hue and often gives them semi-conductive properties.
Cut with step facets, it is the largest internally flawless step-cut vivid blue diamond that GIA has ever graded. Its step-cut facets make this blue diamond even rarer when you consider that the style is mostly found in white diamonds.
According to the GIA Monograph, “achieving a Fancy Vivid color grade in a step cut or emerald cut adds to the rarity since most other fancy shapes intensify the body color more efficiently in the face-up position than step cuts.” Meaning, most colored diamonds are cut with radiant facets to make their color even more vivid. To achieve a Fancy Vivid grade with a step-cut or emerald cut, the inherent body-color has to be stronger than virtually every other fancy shape.”
The Allure of Blockbuster Blue Diamonds
Blue diamonds are some of the rarest colored diamonds in the world, with their hue coming from the presence of trace amounts of the rare element boron within the diamond crystal lattice. Additionally, there are very few blue diamond sources in the world, most of which are recovered from the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
“Brought to dazzling life by the hand of one of the world’s most skillful cutters, it is the ultimate masterpiece,” said Patti Wong, Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia. “Hundreds of millions of years in the making, this extraordinary blue diamond is surely one of nature’s finest creations.” We couldn’t agree more.
The diamond was shown at multiple Sotheby’s galleries, from New York City to London, Dubai, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Taipei, before the auction began at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on April 27, 2022.
Today, the De Beers Blue Diamond remains a benchmark against which newly discovered blue diamonds are measured, symbolizing the pinnacle of rarity, color intensity, clarity, and craftsmanship.
