Marilyn Monroe famously said a diamond is a girl’s best friend. If it’s true, then a 9.75-carat, VVS2, fancy vivid blue, pear-shaped diamond pendant worth $32,645,000 must mean best friends forever until the end of time. That said, don’t get your hopes up too high, as this one of a kind collectors item from the collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon that just sold at auction Thursday night is not likely to be up for sale again soon.
Intense bidding at the auction
The Sotheby’s sale room filled with onlookers watched closely as clients from around the world placed their bids on the spectacular blue diamond via the telephone. The back and forth between the initial seven bidders was calm but brisk and the price rose past the minimum quickly. Within a few minutes it came down to two bidders in a duel that stretched for longer than 20 minutes. The suspense gave when applause broke out in the room as the bidding ended at $32,645,000..
It turned out an anonymous private collector from Hong Kong had made the highest bid. His representative said his client named the new acquisition The Zoe Diamond.
World record auction price for a blue diamond
The more than $32 million price tag for The Zoe Diamond works out to $3,348,205 per carat, setting a new global auction record price for any blue diamond and a new world auction record price-per-carat for any diamond. Of note, the blue diamond was given a presale estimate of $10 to $15 million.
Details on the sale
Gen experts noted that this diamond is notable for the purity of the blue with no other colors, as well as its high clarity given nearly all blue diamonds contain imperfections that develop during crystal formation.
Paul Mellon was a well-known philanthropist and horticulturist. The proceeds from the sale of the diamond will go to the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation. The foundation supports the Oak Spring Garden Library and is endowed on the Mellon’s Upperville estate in Virginia for the furtherance of horticultural and educational endeavors.
