Largest Blue Diamond 'Bleu Royal' Sold for Almost $44 Million at Geneva Auction

The largest flawless vivid blue diamond ever to come up for auction sold for a staggering $43.8 million at a rare jewels' sale in Geneva on Tuesday, Christie's auction website reported.

At the auction, which also featured pieces worn by Audrey Hepburn and Marlon Brando, this vivid blue diamond, known as the "Bleu Royal" was one of the rarest ever found and sold at this auction.  

It weighs 17.6 carats. Before the sale, the stone was estimated at $50 million. The diamond, which was set in a ring, had been in a private collection for 50 years.

"In terms of value, this will be one of the top 10 jewels sold by Christie's," said Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewellery at Christie's.

Kadakia said that many of today's coloured diamonds have a modified cut to accentuate the colour.

In the case of the Bleu Royal, "the material itself was so rich that the craftsmen were able to cut it in a classic brilliant cut style," he said.

"It meets all the requirements - truly the best in its class."

Exceptional vivid blue diamonds weighing more than 10 carats are exceptionally rare.

Max Fosset, Head of the Jewelry Department at Christie's in Geneva, stated that the diamond was unique due to its deep, saturated blue color and unaltered pear-shaped brilliant form.

Since the founding of Christie's in 1766, only three such stones have come to market - all in the last 13 years.

Earlier, more than 1400 personal belongings of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury were sold at another auction, Sotheby's. 

The centrepiece of the collection was a Yamaha G2 Baby grand piano purchased by Mercury in 1975. It is believed that he used this piano to create numerous classic songs for his band, including Bohemian Rhapsody. The estimated value of this lot was 2-3 million pounds (approximately $3.8 million). The auction also included handwritten lyrics, drafts and sheet music.

A handwritten draft of Bohemian Rhapsody, which shows Mercury experimenting with the title, was estimated at £800,000-1.2 million (approximately $1-1.5 million).