A rare triangular-shaped diamond weighing 5.5 carats has shattered auction records after selling for more than 13.5 million Swiss francs ($17.3 million) at a Geneva sale on Wednesday, according to Christie’s auction house.
Known as the “Ocean Dream,” the extraordinary gem was described as the largest fancy vivid blue-green diamond known to exist. The stone, which originated from Central Africa during the 1990s, commanded a record-breaking price for its category at auction.
The final sale price significantly exceeded Christie’s pre-auction projections of 7-10 million francs (approximately $9-13 million). According to Rahul Kadakia, president of Christie’s Asia Pacific, an unnamed private collector purchased the diamond after about 20 minutes of bidding, suggesting strong buyer interest.
The Wednesday sale represents more than double the approximately $8.5 million the same gem commanded when Christie’s previously sold it in 2014. The diamond had been showcased at the Smithsonian Splendour of Diamonds Exhibition in 2003 among other exceptional colored stones.
“A stellar result worthy of the world’s rarest blue-green diamond,” commented Tobias Kormind, managing director of online jeweler 77 Diamonds.
Meanwhile, a competing auction at Sotheby’s on Tuesday failed to find a buyer for a six-carat fancy vivid blue diamond from South Africa’s renowned Cullinan mine. The stone had been expected to sell for between 7.2 million and 9.6 million francs ($9.2 million to $12.3 million).
“Although the diamond didn’t find a buyer during the auction, we are now in conversations with several interested parties and are confident that it will find a new home soon,” Sotheby’s stated.
According to both auction houses, collectors are showing growing interest in rare colored diamonds, which represent only a small percentage of diamonds extracted worldwide.
