Rare blue diamond may fetch over US$35m for firm
Print Edition
A rare 122.52-carat blue diamond found in South Africa could fetch more than US$35 million for a London-listed mining company.
Only three or four blue diamonds over 100 carats have ever been recovered, according to Cathy Mallins, corporate communications manager at Petra Diamonds Ltd.
So far, the highest price on record for a rough diamond is US$35.3 million, paid in February 2010 for a 507-carat white stone recovered from the same mine, finnCap analyst Martin Potts said in a research note.
“We think that this stone may break that record,” he said.
Both diamonds were recovered from the Cullinan mine, the source of many large diamonds, including the largest rough gem diamond ever recovered — the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond found in 1905.
That diamond was cut into two stones that are part of Britain’s Crown Jewels held in the Tower of London.
Petra said it would evaluate the optimal route to market the stone after further analysis to assess its potential value.
Last month, a 100-carat yellow diamond fetched US$16.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva, the highest paid for a diamond of that color. The rough stone was 190 carats.
“Given that blue diamonds are rarer, more desirable than both yellow and white stones, we would expect multiples of this in terms of value,” Numis analysts said in a note.
“If it comes back from analysis as ‘fancy vivid’ color then it could blow the roof off.”
Other notable diamonds discovered at the mine include the 25.5-carat Cullinan blue diamond found in 2013, and sold for US$16.9 million, and the Star of Josephine diamond recovered in 2008, which sold for US$9.49 million.
Petra bought Cullinan in 2008. Located at the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountain range north-east of Pretoria, it is one of the firm’s five producing mines in South Africa.
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