19 May

‘Oppenheimer Blue’ diamond smashes estimates, sells for world record A$80 million

A recent spate of eye-popping bids at Geneva’s semi-annual magnificent jewel auctions has highlighted the surging value of precious stones, with some of the world’s ultra-rich increasingly investing in hard assets as a safeguard against stock market volatility.

“When you buy a Picasso, you pay a lot, but you know you are going to sell it for even more.”

The “Oppenheimer Blue”, the largest and finest fancy vivid blue diamond ever offered at auction, sold for a world record 56.837 million Swiss francs ($80.71 million) on Wednesday after dramatic see-saw bidding, Christie’s said.

“It’s the most expensive jewel ever sold at auction,” said Christie’s spokeswoman Alexandra Kindermann.

The rare rectangular-cut stone, which weighs 14.62 carats, previously belonged to Sir Philip Oppenheimer, who controlled the Diamond Syndicate in London.

Before the auction experts ad said it was in with a chance of beating the record of $48.4 million set by Sotheby’s in November with Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau’s purchase of the 12.03-carat “Blue Moon of Josephine”.

The packed Geneva saleroom broke into applause as Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International Head of Jewellery, brought down the hammer after two phone bidders ended a 20-minute battle for the gem.

The buyer’s identity was not immediately known.

Sotheby’s fetched a record price in the Fancy Vivid Pink Category on Tuesday, when a private buyer in Asia scooped up a 15.38-carat stone for $31.6 million.

Ehud Laniado, president of Cora International, which sold the stone dubbed “Unique Pink”, said he was “very happy with the sale price”, and voiced confidence that the gem’s value would rise over time.

“When you buy a Picasso, you pay a lot, but you know you are going to sell it for even more,” he said.

Surge in diamond prices amid volatile share market

A recent spate of eye-popping bids at Geneva’s semi-annual magnificent jewel auctions has highlighted the surging value of precious stones, with some of the world’s ultra-rich increasingly investing in hard assets as a safeguard against stock market volatility.

Britain’s Sir Philip Oppenheimer (1911-1995) led a powerful cartel called the Central Selling Organization for 45 years, tightly controlling roughly 80 percent of the international diamond trade in a bid to prevent wild price swings.

Among his major credits was convincing the Soviet Union to sell its significant diamond reserves through his London-based cartel.

De Beers, the giant mining company built by the Oppenheimer family, also flourished in the latter half of the 20th century, thanks in part to Sir Philip’s outsized influence in the sector.

The blue stone has passed through several hands since Oppenheimer’s death and this week marked its first appearance at public auction.

“As a general rule, these stones are quite small,” said Christie’s diamond expert Jean-Marc Lunel, noting that a Fancy Vivid Blue weighing just five carats typically generates considerable buzz in the diamond market.

Last week, Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond announced the sale of a huge 813-carat uncut diamond for a record $63 million ($66.8 million).

The name of the buyer for the gem, which was discovered in Botswana, was not divulged, nor the conditions of the sale overseen by Nemesis International.

That record sale figure for a rough diamond is unlikely to last very long.

Lucara is preparing to auction an even larger 1,109-carat diamond at Sotheby’s in London on June 29.

 

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