Blue diamond may fetch record $55 million

A blue diamond weighing 12.03 carats and described by experts as internally flawless could sell for a record $55 million when it goes up for auction in November, Sotheby’s said on Thursday.

The Blue Moon diamond, discovered in South Africa in January last year, will be exhibited in Hong Kong, London and New York before its likely purchase at auction in Geneva on November 11.

“The Blue Moon diamond is a simply sensational stone of perfect colour and purity,” David Bennett, who heads Sotheby’s international jewellery division, said in a statement. He added that the immense hype which followed the stone’s discovery “has now been proven to have been totally justified.”