A 12.11-carat fancy intense blue diamond is sold for $15.9 million (HK$122 million) at Christie’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction.
The internally flawless marquise-shaped, brilliant-cut gem was sold during a long, drawn-out bidding process that was gradually narrowed down to two phone bidders, as seen through the auction house’s live stream. It blew past its $12.3 million high estimate with a “hammer price” of $13.6 million (HK$106 million), which doesn’t include the buyer’s premium. The price per carat was $1.31 million.
The diamond was the top lot in the July 9 sale at the Alexandra House held under coronavirus precautions. It was Christie’s first live jewellery auction since the global pandemic caused business and travel to ground to a halt.
Repost from www.forbes.com
