Rare diamond first shown in Abu Dhabi sells for $21.5 million at Sotheby's auction

Mediterranean Blue stone was part of an exhibition last month in Saadiyat Island

A rare blue diamond showcased earlier in Abu Dhabi has sold for $21.5 million (Dh77 million) at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva.

The auction kicked off at $10.8 million, quickly going up to the final sale price as a bidding war unfolded. It was estimated that the Mediterranean Blue diamond would fetch $20 million.

The fancy vivid blue stone weighs 10.3 carats and has VS2 clarity. It is considered one of the most important blue diamonds discovered.

It was part of an exhibition of rare and remarkable gemstones at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island last month. Gemstones worth a total of more than $100 million were on display at Beyond: The World’s Rarest Diamond.

Paul Redmayne, Sotheby’s senior jewellery specialist for the Middle East, described the Mediterranean Blue as “one of the most sought-after. The clarity, the provenance, the size, and the fact it’s a cushion cut makes it super-desirable,” he said at the opening of the exhibition in April.

The Mediterranean Blue sold for more than its $20 million estimate. EPA

Calling the scale of precious gemstones being exhibited “mind-boggling”, he said the diamonds had never all been in the same room before.

“You’ve got the century stones, 100-carat-plus white diamonds, the 100-carat-plus brown-orange, the 40-carat light pink, the 31-carat vivid orangey pink, the 303-carat Golden Canary and the second-largest red diamond in the world,” he said.

This 303-carat Golden Canary is one of the pieces on display. Antonie Robertson / The National

The 5.05-carat red diamond, being displayed in public for the first time, was another highlight of the exhibition.

Red diamonds are so rare that even legendary jeweller Harry Winston never saw one during his lifetime, Redmayne said, making the ownership of emerald-cut fancy brown-red diamond a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The exhibition at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation offers a rare chance to view $100 million worth of extraordinary diamonds. Antonie Robertson / The National

What makes this particular stone exceptional is how it “ticks all the boxes”, Redmayne said. Mined in 2023 from the famed Cullinan mine in South Africa, known for producing two stones part of the British Crown Jewel diamonds, the rough stone was studied for a full year before cutting, to maximise its colour.

The Mediterranean blue diamond was mined in 2023 in South Africa. Antonie Robertson / The National

Other extraordinary stones in the exhibition included the Desert Rose, a 31.68-carat pear-shaped fancy vivid orange Pink diamond of VVS1 clarity; the Golden Canary necklace, set with a 303.10-carat pear-shaped fancy deep brownish-yellow diamond that is internally flawless, and the Ultimate Emerald Cut, a 100.20-carat emerald-cut diamond ring of D colour and internally flawless clarity.

There was also a 102.60-carat round diamond, D colour and VVS1 clarity; a 40.29-carat radiant-cut fancy light pink diamond and diamond ring of VS2 clarity; and a Cartier necklace in 18k white gold, featuring a 100.26-carat pear-shaped fancy deep brown-orange diamond of I1 clarity.