Rare blue diamond sells for £22.5m

The world’s largest oval fancy vivid blue diamond to ever go under the hammer has been sold for $31.8m (£22.5m).

The De Beers ‘Millennium Jewel 4’ was auctioned at the Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Spring Sale on 5 April, selling for the highest price ever paid for a jewel at auction in Asia.

The previous record for a jewell in Asia was the sale of a 118.28-carat oval-shaped D-Flawless Diamond, which sold for $30.6m (£21.7m) in October 2013.

The Millennium Jewel 4 is the only oval-shaped stone among the 12 rare diamonds – 11 blue and one colourless – that form the ‘De Beers Millennium Jewels’ collection unveiled in 2000.

Quek Chin Yeow, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said, “We are delighted with the results of this sale, with the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 setting a record for any jewel sold at auction in Asia.”

In total the auction realised $73.7m (£52m), with other lots including an orange diamond and a strand of natural pearls.