Sotheby’s auctions De Beers Millennium fancy blue diamond
Sotheby’s is set to auction this 10.1 carat, internally flawless clarity, fancy vivid blue diamond from the De Beers Millennium Jewel Collection. The diamond will be offered at the Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite spring sale, to be held on April 5th in Hong Kong. This diamond is one of twelve rare diamonds that comprise the De Beers Millennium collection, which were held on exhibit at London’s Millennium Dome to commemorate the year 2000. The diamond will be on display in New York, London, Geneva, Singapore, Taipei, and Hong Kong between throughout the next few weeks. This certainly should be one of the diamonds on your must-see bucket list!
“The market for colored diamonds has gone from strength to strength, and this spring we are thrilled to present the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4,” said Quek Chin Yeow, deputy chairman, Asia and chairman international jewelry, Asia. “Fifteen years ago I had the great opportunity of seeing this magnificent stone for the first time, and it is an absolute delight now to have it in one’s hand, to admire it again and to offer it for auction in Asia.”
Who will buy the De Beers Millennium Blue Diamond:
Sotheby’s estimates that the De Beers Millennium fancy vivid blue diamond will fetch between $30-35 million dollars at auction. We have to wonder whether it will catch the attention of Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau, who purchased a 16.08 carat, fancy pink colored diamond from Christie’s at auction for $28.5 million on November 10th of last year for his seven-year-old daughter. The famous “fugitive from justice” immediately renamed that diamond “Sweet Josephine” in her honor.
The next day, Lau purchased the 12.03 carat, Blue Moon Diamond from Sotheby’s for $48.5 million, and renamed it the Blue Moon of Josephine. No doubt that the De Beers Millennium fancy vivid blue diamond would make little Josephine very happy. With a net worth estimated by Forbes in March as being 13.3 billion, there is no doubt that he can afford it. Lau reportedly owns 61% of estate holdings in China. Yes, if I were a betting man, my money would be on Lau as the most likely candidate to win the battle for this magnificent fancy vivid blue diamond.
What are the origins of a blue diamond?
This three minute video from National Geographic provides an excellent explanation about how diamonds are formed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHPOp69SO9E
The Fancy Colored Diamonds from Brian Gavin are created in the same manner, however chemical impurities and distortions in the lattice structure of the crystal cause them to exhibit color instead of being colorless. The chemical boron is believed to be the trace element which causes diamonds to be blue. The boron bonds with the carbon element to absorb red, yellow, and green light, creating the color blue which appears in different intensity of color.
Pink diamonds are pink due to distortions in the crystal lattice, which cause them to absorb a specific range of green light. Yellow and orange diamonds contain nitrogen atoms which cause them to absorb blue light and reflect yellow hues. Green diamonds are green because they absorbed a bit of naturally occurring radiation which was present in the area where they formed. Nature works in mysterious ways, and creates some truly magnificent gems!
Photo credit: Sotheby’s
