Sotheby's to auction off blue diamonds valued at $70 million

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Sotheby's will be auctioning off a set of eight rare blue diamonds valued at over $70 million at their Magnificent Jewels Auction in New York, Hong Kong and Geneva in 2022 and 2023. The diamond collection from De Beers is among the most valuable ever to be offered up for auction.

The diamonds were purchased in 2020 by De Beers and Diacore from the Cullinan mine in South Africa, the same mine that was the source of a 15.10-karat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond that sold for $57.5 million in April.

"After two years of meticulously perfecting these diamonds, we are incredibly proud and excited to reveal the astonishing De Beers Exceptional Collection, and to join forces once again with De Beers to create and bring to market some of the world's rarest diamonds," said Diacore chairman Nir Livnat.

The first auction will be held in Geneva on Nov. 9, with further auctions held in New York later this year, followed by Hong Kong in the spring of 2023.

"Nearly six months after we set a new benchmark for one of the highest prices achieved for a blue diamond at auction with the $57.5 million sale of the De Beers Blue, we are honored to be entrusted with this superb collection fo Fancy Blue Diamonds," Quig Bruning, the head of Sotheby's Jewels America, said.

Four of the eight blue diamonds were graded by the Gemological Institute of America as "Fancy Vivid," which is the highest color grading for colored diamonds.