Christie’s Geneva will present the Oppenheimer Blue, the largest fancy vivid blue diamond ever offered at auction. Weighing 14.62 carats, this exceptional stone will lead Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction on 18 May 2016. Named in honour of its previous owner Sir Philip Oppenheimer, this rectangular-cut diamond is estimated at US$38-45 million.
“The Oppenheimers have been leaders in the diamond industry for generations and Sir Philip Oppenheimer could have had any diamond he wanted. But he chose this one, with its perfect hue, impeccable proportions and fabulous rectangular shape,” said François Curiel, Chairman of Christie’s Asia Pacific and China. “The Oppenheimer Blue can only be described as one of the rarest gems in the world. It’s the gem of gems.”
According to Christie’s, in blue diamonds, fancy vivid specifically describes those that are medium to dark in tone and strong to very strong in saturation. In a past Gemological Institute of America (GIA) study of 462 blue diamonds, only one percent were fancy vivid. Although blue diamonds only account for 0.1 percent of those originating from the Premier mine, a seemingly negligible figure, a rough estimate of global blue diamond production would be less than 0.0001 percent and by some rough diamonds calculations, only one stone in 200,000 rough diamonds mined.
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