We had previously informed you about the upcoming sale of a rare blue diamond at Sotheby’s. And pretty much as expected, the auction went through for a record breaking price of $6.7 million. The royal blue gem that was part of royal heritage up until now, made it to its first public sale and was traded within minutes in Geneva this week.
The ‘Farnese blue’ as it was called, was originally owned by Elizabeth Farnese, daughter of the Duke of Parma, who earned it as a wedding gift on marrying Philip V of Spain in 1715. It was later handed down through generations from Spain to France, Italy and Austria, but was always kept as a well-guarded royal secret. It’s no wonder the exotic blue gem was taken away within four minutes of bidding for almost double its initial estimate of $3.5m-$5m. Extracted from the famous Golconda mine of India, the 6.1 carat beauty is also once said to have been part of a tiara owned by French Queen Marie Antoinette.
Per Sotheby’s jewel specialist, Daniela Moschetti, “We (Sotheby’s) were expecting a good result but we started from $3.5m and we ended up with $6.7m, so we exceeded our expectation. Good jewels, well-designed, well-made, with a signature, with a perfect… slot in time, in age, do very well.” While the identity of the buyer is not yet revealed, he is surely lucky to now call the Farnese Blue his very own!
[Via:Mining]
