Diamonds are not rare! But rare diamonds are definitely rarer to find and rarest to own. Bonhams London has recently auctioned a rare blue diamond Bulgari ring for £6.2 million ($9.6 million). Estimated to fetch just £1 – £1.5 million ($1.5 – $2.3 million), the Trombino ring went under the hammer for almost five times its expected value. Setting a record at Bonhams’ Fine Jewelry sale in London on April 24th, this 5.30 carats blue diamond ring sold for $1.8 million per carat. It topped the former world record of $1.68 million per carat for a blue diamond. Though it isn’t the largest blue diamond, made circa 1965, this cushion-shaped deep-blue diamond is one of the world’s rarest. Bought by Laurence Graff of Graff Diamonds, the fancy deep-blue diamond is set horizontally within a mount pavé-set with brilliant-cut diamonds and baguette-cut diamonds that total up to 2.00 carats.
Bonhams reveals that the term “fancy” is used to describe a diamond of intense color and the color “fancy deep-blue” is one of the rarest. The extraordinary color blue is derived from small atoms of boron mixing with the carbon atoms in a diamond, affecting the absorption of light passing through the stone and lending it a blue appearance. Blue diamonds are structurally very pure and account for less than one per cent of all diamonds mined.
Also, Jean Ghika, the Director of Bonhams Jewelry Department for Europe quoted, “We are delighted with the price it has made. It was a sensational stone which charmed everyone who viewed it prior to the sale. Blue diamonds, especially those over 5.00 carats, are extremely rare to see on the market and continue to be highly sought-after. We are honored to have handled the sale of such a unique gem.”
