Sotheby’s will offer the Blue Moon Diamond, among the largest known fancy vivid blue diamonds, for sale at its auction of Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels in Geneva on November 11.
The Blue Moon Diamond was cut from a 29.62-carat rough blue diamond found Petra Diamonds' Cullinan mine in South Africa in January 2014.
The Internally Flawless cushion brilliant-cut diamond weighs 12.03 carats and has been graded Fancy Vivid Blue – the highest possible color grading for blue diamonds – by the GIA. Sotheby’s said the diamond has a pre-sale estimate of $35 million to $55 million.
The rough was purchased, through a competitive tender held by Petra Diamonds, by New York-based Cora International.
Headquartered on Fifth Avenue in New York City Cora International is a leading luxury brand and is considered one of the world’s leading firms specializing in cutting large and important diamonds and known for its rare and unique diamonds of large sizes and vivid fancy colors.
Cutting and polishing the Blue Moon was a highly skilled and complex process which took over six months, Sotheby’s said in a statement.
