Overview
- The 5.5-carat triangular-cut stone went to a private client after roughly 20 minutes of bidding at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva.
- The CHF 13.5 million ($17.3 million) price set an auction record for a fancy vivid blue-green diamond, which the GIA identifies as the largest of its kind it has graded.
- At nearly $3.5 million per carat, the result more than doubled the Ocean Dream’s 2014 Christie’s price of about $8.5–$8.6 million.
- GIA’s Tom Moses says the stone’s blue-green hue likely comes from natural radiation near the Earth’s surface, which can concentrate color near the outer layers.
- Christie’s said the 87-lot sale was strong at $66.5 million with all but one lot sold, as a separate six-carat vivid blue at Sotheby’s in Geneva failed to sell and moved to private talks.