Sotheby’s Hong Kong is offering the largest and most valuable blue diamond ever to be auctioned for sale in April this year, with an estimated value of more than $48 million.

The “De Beers Cullinan Blue” blue diamond, which will be auctioned for one piece, is a recent find. The diamond, weighing more than 15 carats, was mined in 2021 from the Cullinan Mine in South Africa, one of the world’s few sources of extremely rare blue diamonds.

Frank Everett, Sotheby’s Vice President and Director of Jewelery Sales, said the gem is gorgeous on so many levels, “It’s rare because of the size…it weighs over 15 carats. It’s bright blue. It’s flawless on the inside. One of the rarest aspects of it is the way it is cut.”

A blue diamond offered at auction

He continued, “I think we will see huge interest in this gem when it finally comes up for auction. The jewelry market is very strong right now, as it really has been for the past several years, but one of the strongest sectors is colored diamonds, and one of the strongest colors is blue. “.

The Gemological Institute of America classified the diamond as vivid blue, the highest possible color classification according to Sotheby’s, and the institute granted it only for no more than one percent of the blue diamonds submitted to it.