A 9.75 rare fancy vivid blue diamond has sold for US$32.645m (US$3,348,205 per carat) – a new auction record total price for any blue diamond and a new auction record for price-per-carat for any diamond. The pear-shaped diamond was the stand-out jewel in Sotheby’s auction of ‘Jewels & Objects of Vertu from the Collection of Mrs Paul Mellon’ in New York on November 20.
It was eagerly sought after by seven bidders who competed for 20 minutes before being ultimately sold to a Hong Kong private collector who named it The Zoe Diamond According to Gary Schuler, head of Sotheby’s Jewelry Department in New York, the daimond’s sale price exceeds previous auction record for any blue diamond by more than US$8 million while the price per carat exceeds the previous auction record price per carat for any diamond by nearly US$1 million.
The previous per-carat auction record for any diamond was US$2,398,152, set by a 14.82 carat Fancy Vivid Orange Diamond at Christie’s in Geneva in November 2013. The previous auction record for any blue diamond was US$24,311,191, set by the Wittelsbach Diamond at Christie’s London in December 2008.
Gary Schuler, head of Sotheby’s Jewelry Department in New York, commented: “From the moment I saw this diamond, I knew that it would be one of the most important stones that I will ever have the privilege of presenting at auction. It was incredible to see each of my colleagues experience the diamond for the first time, watching as the blue hue warmed and intensified in front of them with every minute in natural light. Mrs Mellon’s diamond absolutely deserves the place in the record books that it achieved.”
He said Sotheby’s now holds the auction records for any white diamond, any yellow diamond, any pink diamond and any blue diamond.
Listerine heiress Rachel ‘Bunny’ Mellon died in March at the age of 103.
The five-day auction of 1521 items from her estate netted a total of US218.1 million