De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 Sells for Record $31.8 Million

Rapaport reported that the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 was sold by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong for $31.8 million. That’s the highest price ever paid for a gem at an auction in Asia.
As quoted in the market news:

The oval-shaped, 10.10-carat, fancy vivid blue, internally flawless gem fetched $3.2 million per carat, according to a Sotheby’s statement April 5. The sale comes amid strong interest in valuable colored diamonds with recent auctioneers’ estimates of up to $45 million for large stones.
The gem is sourced from an Asian private collection and is the only oval-shaped precious stone among 12 rare diamonds – eleven blue and one colorless – in the De Beers Millennium Jewels collection unveiled in 2000 to celebrate the turn of the century.
In total, the auctioneer’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite auction on April 5 sold $73.3 million of jewels, or 65.7 percent by lots and 69.3 percent by value. A 22.40-carat, D-color, internally flawless diamond ring sold for $3.7 million and four other items fetched more than $2 million, including a jadeite and diamond ring and pair of matching earrings and a 4.08-carat fancy vivid orange diamond and diamond ring.

Click here to read the full Rapaport report.