Auction house Bonhams will kick off its autumn auction season on September 20 with a blue diamond that caught global attention. The blue oval cut diamond is not the only top lot that is getting a lot of attention; the Kashmir sapphire earrings are as they deserve one of the top lots.
The reason why this blue diamond is getting its attention is that it has been graded Fancy Intense Blue with no modification or secondary color. Making it even rarer, the diamond cut into an oval shape is sized 3.81-carat while being accompanied by a GIA certificate. The experts are expecting this oval cut diamond is going to sell for $1,57 million to $2.4 million. Meaning the diamond is up to $620,631 per carat! This beauty shall be mounted in an 18-karat white gold four-claw setting originating from a private British collection.
Head of jewelry at Bonhams UK & Europe shares that blue diamonds are extraordinarily rare and accounted for only 0.004% of all diamonds mined. Making blue diamonds that are categorized as Fancy Intense Blue with no modifying or secondary color even rarer, explaining the global interest in this piece.
The exceptional Kashmir sapphire earrings are from the 19th century. The sapphires are cushion shaped and weighing 8.97 and 8.93 carats. The AGL and SSEF laboratories have graded the sapphires and delivered reports. In the reports, the sapphires are of Kashmir origin, no evidence of heat treatment and described as saturated and vivid blue color. The contrast between the extreme blue and colorless diamonds makes it fashionable and never out of fashion.
It is not the first time Bonham is selling a blue diamond, as the auction house has a strong track record for blue diamonds. The auction house even holds world auction records for price-per-carat ($1.77 million per carat) in the category fancy deep blue diamonds.
Interested in more pieces of Bonham? Check out their website and discover for example more about an old piece of earrings from circa 1830!
