The largest oval fancy vivid blue diamond to ever appear at auction will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s next month. The De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 may not have the catchiest name in the history of record-breaking diamonds, but it certainly has an exciting back story. It is one of twelve rare diamonds – eleven blue and one colourless – that form the world-renowned De Beers Millennium Jewels collection unveiled in 2000 in celebration of the millennium.
The 10.10-carat, oval, Internally Flawless, Fancy Vivid blue diamond which was displayed at London’s Millennium Dome was nearly stolen when a local London gang tried to pull off the biggest diamond heist in history in November 2000.
Sotheby’s hopes to raise $30 million to $35 million (HKD 235 million to 280 million) from the sale of the blue jewel discovered in the Cullinan Mine in South Africa.