Hong Kong–The largest round fancy vivid blue diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America will be offered for sale when Sotheby’s holds its Oct. 7 sale in Hong Kong.

The 7.59-carat round brilliant internally flawless fancy blue vivid diamond, called “The Premier Blue,” is expected to garner more than $19 million.

The Premier Blue is the first significant round fancy blue diamond to appear at auction worldwide, as round brilliant cuts are rarely used in colored diamonds due to the high volume of waste involved in the cutting process, Sotheby’s said.

The diamond will be included in Sotheby’s autumn sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite, and will be previewed in Asia, Geneva, London, New York and Doha, Qatar prior to the sale.

If the stone reaches its estimated price, it will be the most expensive blue diamond ever sold by Sotheby’s. The auction house’s highest-grossing blue diamond to date is an 8.01-carat emerald-cut fancy vivid blue diamond set in a ring that sold for $12.7 million in Hong Kong in April.

The “Graff Pink” diamond holds the world record for any diamond and any jewel sold at action. Diamantaire Laurence Graff paid $46.16 million for the 24.78-carat emerald-cut fancy intense pink diamond at Sotheby’s Geneva in November 2010.

Overall, Sotheby’s Oct. 7 sale has approximately 330 lots estimated to total more than $80 million.

A highlight of the auction is an 8.03-carat cushion-shaped natural pigeon’s blood Burmese ruby, free of inclusions to the naked eye and originating from the Mogok Valley in Burma. Set into a ring and designed by Cindy Chao, the lot is expected to sell for up to $4.2 million.

A set of two jadeite bead necklaces, together made of 254 jadeite beads of matching color, translucency and texture, have a pre-sale high estimate of $3.8 million. The necklace originates from China’s Republican Era, 1911 to 1949, and belonged to a Chinese family.

A 10.94-carat pear-shaped fancy light pink diamond, set into a ring and surrounded by marquise-shaped white diamonds, is expected to fetch between $1.9 million and $2.3 million.

 

Colombian emerald jewelry, Kashmir sapphire pieces and pearl lots also will be included in the auction.

“In celebration of Sotheby’s 40th anniversary in Asia, our selection this autumn is marked by unique pieces of illustrious provenance as well as inimitable style and glamour,” said Quek Chin Yeow, deputy chairman and head of jewelry at Sotheby’s Asia.

Additional information on the auction can be found on Sotheby’s website.

By Rob Bates, Reprinted from JCK Online

On Feb. 19, some $50 million in diamonds were stolen at the Brussels airport by four armed men posing as police officers, according to news reports and local sources.

The men bore a hole in an airport security fence, drove onto the tarmac with two cars, and then stole the diamonds from a plane waiting on the tarmac, according to the Facebook page of the Brussels airport.

“We have confirmation that the amount of polished and rough stolen is about $50 million,” says Karen Rentmeesters, communications officer for Antwerp World Diamond Centre. “The robbers took 120 packages from the airplane, which was coming from Antwerp and on its way to Zurich.”

The Brussels airport Facebook page stressed “there was no shooting and no one got injured.”

“The police have started a thorough investigation and the airport police are currently taking all the necessary actions,” the statement said. “This obviously was an armed robbery by a professional gang.”

Press contacts at the Brussels police and prosecutor’s office did not return a request for comment.

“It is a concern for us that the robbers, in a little over a few minutes. managed to get on the premises of the airport and back off,” adds Rentmeesters. “Ninety-nine percent of our trade goes through the airports. We think that the high level of security and strict measures that we implement in Antwerp should be the same at the airport.”