An ultra-rare diamond worth an estimated $20m is coming to Abu Dhabi.
The 10.03-carat precious gem is on a world tour, with stops in the UAE, Taipei, Hong Kong and New York before it goes up for auction with Sotheby’s in Geneva on May 13.
The first stop will be Abu Dhabi, where it will be displayed for the first time ever on April 8 at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, in the Saadiyat Island Cultural District.
Mediterranean Blue Diamond in Abu Dhabi
With the highest possible colour grading for a blue diamond from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), The Mediterranean Blue has been found to be Type IIb, a classification which represents less than 0.5 per cent of all diamonds.
Quig Bruning, Sotheby’s head of jewellery, Americas and EMEA, said: “The Mediterranean Blue represents one of nature’s rarest gems. Any vivid blue diamond is a discovery worth celebrating, but one as entrancing as this, particularly being over 10-carats, is a newsworthy event.
“The Mediterranean Blue’s remarkable size, charming cushion-cut and ocean-blue colour places it in the rarefied company of some of the most important blue diamonds to come to market in recent years.”
Dubbed “The Mediterranean Blue” the stone was cut from a 31.94-carat diamond discovered at South Africa’s Cullinan mine in 2023.
Diamonds discovered in the Cullinan mine, include:
- The Blue Moon of Josephine, a 12.03-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond sold for $48.5m at a Sotheby’s auction in 2015
- The De Beers Blue, a 15.10-carat step-cut Fancy Vivid Blue diamond sold for $57.5m in 2022
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