Sotheby’s sell blue diamond for world record auction price
NEW YORK, November 2014 – A magnificent and rare fancy vivid blue diamond from the collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon sold for a staggering $32,645,000 ($3,348,205 per carat) at Sotheby’s New York headquarters on November 20– a new world auction record total price for any blue diamond and a new world auction record for price-per-carat for any diamond*.
The 9.75 carat, pear-shaped diamond was eagerly sought after by seven bidders who competed for 20 minutes for the extraordinary stone, ultimately selling to a Hong Kong private collector who has named the stone The Zoe Diamond.
Gary Schuler, Head of Sotheby’s Jewelry Department in New York, said: “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.”
The first session of Sotheby’s sale of Jewels & Objects of Vertu from the Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon totaled $42.1 million – already well in excess of the entire sale’s $19.2 million high estimate, and with more than 200 lots to be offered on November 21.
All but one of the 42 lots on offer on November 20 found buyers, with 93% of sold lots achieving prices in excess of their high estimates. Additional highlights from the offering on November 20 included:
• An Important Fancy Blue Diamond Pendant, the pear-shaped diamond weighing 9.15 carats, VS1 clarity, which sold for $2,965,000, double its high estimate of $1.5 million.
• An Exquisite Gold and Diamond Rivière by Cartier circa 1948, set with 29 old European-cut diamonds weighing approximately 111.00 carats and completed with a clasp set with a round Fancy Deep Yellow diamond weighing 4.20 carats, which rose to $2,797,00, nearly double its $1.5 million high estimate.
Sotheby’s New York
Property from the Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon
Jewels & Objects of Vertu
Auction 20 & 21 November
The Zoe Diamond
A Magnificent and Rare Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond Pendant
The pear-shaped Fancy Vivid Blue diamond weighing 9.75 carats, mounted in platinum. Accompanied by a GIA report stating that the diamond is Fancy Vivid Blue, Natural Color, VVS2 clarity, potentially internally flawless
Estimate $10/15 million
Sold for $32,645,000 ($3,348,205 per carat)
** AUCTION RECORD FOR ANY BLUE DIAMOND **
** AUCTION RECORD PRICE PER CARAT FOR ANY DIAMOND **
* The previous per-carat auction record for any diamond was $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 $24,311,191, set by the Wittelsbach Diamond at Christie’s London in December 2008.
