In a dazzling display of luxury and rare beauty, a remarkable blue diamond has shattered records at Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva. The Bleu Royal, a pear-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond weighing 17.61 carats, fetched a staggering $43.8 million, making it one of the most expensive diamonds ever sold at auction. The auction house had originally estimated that the Bleu Royal would sell for between $35 million and $50 million, but its final price far exceeded expectations. The gem, which is the largest internally flawless blue diamond ever to be offered at auction, was acquired by an anonymous private collector after an intense seven-minute bidding round.

Max Fawcett, Christie's head of jewelry in Geneva, expressed his delight with the sale, noting that the gem sold for nearly $2.5 million per carat, making it the most expensive jewelry lot sold worldwide in 2023. With this extraordinary sale, the Bleu Royal also claims a spot among the top-10 most expensive jewelry lots ever sold. The Bleu Royal's exceptional color and classic brilliant faceting style set it apart from other colored diamonds. Rahul Kadakia, Christie's international head of jewelry, explained that many colored diamonds often undergo a modified cut to enhance their color.

However, the rich material of the Bleu Royal allowed it to be cut into a classic style, resulting in a gem that is truly top of its class. Fancy vivid blue diamonds weighing over 10 carats are exceptionally rare, and only three such stones have appeared for sale at Christie's since its establishment in 1766. The Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for $57.5 million in 2016, was the only diamond to have surpassed the Bleu Royal's sale price at Christie's. In addition to the Bleu Royal, Christie's Luxury Week also featured other remarkable items of historical significance.

One of the highlights was a pearl necklace worn by the iconic Audrey Hepburn in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. This necklace, which Hepburn selected from a collection offered by jeweler Furst, is now being sold by a European collector with a starting price of $20,000. Another notable item that went under the hammer during Christie's Luxury Week was the timepiece worn by Marlon Brando in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. The Rolex GMT-Master, hand-engraved by Brando himself, sold for just over $5 million. The watch was initially gifted to Brando's adopted daughter in 1995 and was later auctioned in 2019 for $1.95 million.

The high demand and impressive prices achieved at Christie's Luxury Week demonstrate the continued strength of the market for rare and exceptional items. Colored stones, in particular, performed exceptionally well, attracting collectors from around the world. As Max Fawcett noted, there is still a great market for rare treasures, and collectors are constantly on the lookout for the very best. The Bleu Royal, with its deep, rich blue color and unmodified pear brilliant shape, has undoubtedly captivated the hearts of collectors, and its sale marks a significant milestone in the world of fine jewelry. After spending decades in a private collection, the Bleu Royal will now embark on a new chapter as it transitions to another private collection for the first time in 40 years.