GEM BEYOND COMPARE

What is as precious as a deep sea pearl, shines an unabashed aquamarine blue and has never seen the inside of an oyster? The world’s largest round Fancy Vivid blue diamond, named ‘ Premier Blue’ after the Premier mines in Pretoria, South Africa, from where it was sourced. The diamond will go under the hammer at Sotheby Hong Kong’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite auction in a befitting ode to the auction house’s 40th anniversary on October 7, 2013. Expected to fetch $ 19 million, the 7.59- carat internally flawless blue diamond is the largest gem of its kind to have been graded by the GIA ( Gemological Institute of America). The diamond belonging to the rare category of coloured stones, has been created using an unlikely combination of techniques and will possibly set record auction prices, jewellers said. The Premier Blue has undergone the third most intense gradation – Vivid Blue and the brilliant cut technique, rarely used for coloured stones. Apart from the Premier Blue, the auction will also feature pink, yellow and colourless diamonds, Burmese rubies, Colombian emeralds and Kashmir sapphires, natural pearls and the finest jadeite.