Elmwood’s is offering an 8.03-carat diamond ring at its upcoming auction in London, where it has assigned it an estimate of GBP 1.5 million to GBP 2 million ($2 million to $2.6 million).
The jewel centers a pear-shaped, fancy-light-blue, VS2-clarity diamond in a frame of round brilliant-cut pink and white diamonds, with round white brilliant-cut stones on the shoulders. The ring will go under the hammer at the October 1 Fine Jewellery sale, Elmwood’s said Tuesday.
The rare stone will be the largest pear-shaped, blue diamond ever offered at a British auction and the third-largest blue diamond to appear at such an event in the country’s history, the auction house added.
“An 8.03 carat, natural blue diamond is an extraordinary rarity in its own right, but what adds to its allure is its place in British auction history,” said Joe Kendrick, head of sale at Elmwood’s. “Coming from a Scottish collector, the ring is a truly once-in-a-lifetime piece. Its combination of size, color, clarity and elegant pear shape also gives this stone an exceptionally compelling presence, and we therefore expect wide interest.”
In the UK, the only other blue diamonds weighing more than 8 carats to have appeared at auction are the 70.21-carat Idol’s Eye Christie’s offered in London in 1865, and the Wittelsbach Diamond, which the same company sold to Graff in in London in 2008.
Image: The blue-diamond ring. (Elmwood’s)
