A rare and flawless cushion-shaped blue diamond is expected to sell for between $5.8 million and $8.5 million (£4.1m to £5.9m) when it goes up for auction at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva on May 12. The buyer will also choose a name for the diamond. The 7.03ct diamond was discovered at Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa and it was cut from a 26.58ct rough stone. The magnificent gem will first be exhibited in Hong Kong, Paris, New York and London. Petra Diamonds mentioned that this flawless gem is among the most important blue diamonds ever to be offered at Sotheby’s. Petra Diamonds chief executive John Dippenaar cited that its quality is enhanced by its Cullinan origins, a mine that has produced some of the world’s most famous diamonds. Sotheby’s has earlier sold a flawless blue diamond for £4 million at an auction in Hong Kong in 2007, while the world’s most expensive blue diamond is the Blue Wittelsbach Diamond, which fetched £16.4 million at Christie’s in December 2008.
