Blue diamond sells for US$40M

by Samantha Ashenhurst | July 14, 2021 11:35 am

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An exceptional blue diamond weighing 39.34 carats has found a new home with De Beers.

The company, in partnership with manufacturer Diacore, has agreed to pay Petra Diamonds US$40.2 million ($1 million per carat) for the stone, making it the mining group’s most expensive diamond sale to date.

The Type IIb diamond was recovered in April[2] from Petra’s Cullinan mine, located in South Africa.

“This sets a new milestone for Petra in achieving its highest price for a single stone,” says Petra’s CEO, Richard Duffy. “[It] follows the sale of the 299-carat Type IIa white diamond in March of this year and the five blue diamonds comprising the Letlapa Tala Collection in November 2020, purchased by the same De Beers-Diacore partnership.”

Cullinan has produced many notable finds in recent years, including:

• ‘Cullinan Heritage,’ a 507-carat rough white diamond, which sold for US$35.3 million in 2010;
• ‘Blue Moon of Josephine,’ a 29-carat rough blue diamond, which sold for US$25.6 million in 2014;
• ‘Cullinan Dream,’ a 122-carat rough blue diamond, which sold for US$25.3 million in 2016;
• ‘Legacy of the Cullinan Diamond Mine, a 424-carat rough white diamond, which sold for just under US$15 million[3]in May 2019;
• a 20.08-carat Type IIb blue diamond, which sold for US$14.9 million[4]($741,000 per carat) in November 2019;
• the ‘Letlapa Tala Collection’ of five blue diamonds (85.6 ctw), which sold as a suite of stones for US$40.36 million in November 2020; and
• an exceptional 299.3-carat Type IIa white gem quality diamond, which was recovered at the mine in January 2021 and sold for US$12.18 million last month[5].

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/news/blue-diamond-sells-for-40m/

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