The world's largest blue diamond, k
nown as "The Oppenheimer Blue", sold at Christie's Geneva on Wednesday night (May 28) for a record $57.5 million, making it the most expensive diamond ever to be sold at auction.
According to CNN, the gem sold to a private collector, whose identity has not yet revealed.
It is a 14.62 carat Fancy Vivid stone, which is mounted on a platinum ring and flanked on either side by a trapeze-shaped diamond. It's the largest and best quality blue diamond ever to appear at auction.
It was named after its former owner, the late Sir Philip Oppenheimer, a diamond dealer whose family owns the influential diamond company De Beers.
The Oppenheimer takes the record for world's most expensive diamond from the 12.03 carat "Blue Moon of Josephine," which sold for $48.4 million last fall.
Apparently, blue diamonds are rare, comprising only around 0.0001% of the world's diamonds, according to Christie's. Of this tiny fraction, only about 1% are classified as Fancy Vivid, which explains why they carry such extreme pricetags.
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