April 29th, 2013
British billionaire Laurence Graff added still another famous colored diamond to his world-class collection last week when he placed the winning bid of $9.5 million at a packed house at Bonhams' Fine Jewellery sale in London and walked away with a 5.3-carat fancy deep-blue diamond ring.
The “Trombino” ring, which was designed circa 1965 by Bulgari, sold for nearly four times the pre-auction estimate and set a new world record for the highest price per carat ever paid for a blue diamond — $1.8 million.
The distinctive ring features a cushion-shaped blue diamond set horizontally. It is accented with pavé-set brilliant-cut diamonds and courses of baguette-cut diamonds. According to Bonhams, less than 1 percent of all diamonds mined are blue diamonds.
Collectors from around the world clamored for the privilege of owning the ring. The auction house reported intense bidding from a packed sales room and 25 phone participants.
The victorious Graff also has the distinction of possessing the world's most expensive gemstone — a fancy intense pink diamond known as "The Graff Pink." The 24.78-carat diamond set the record at a Sotheby's auction in November 2010 when he bought it for a staggering $46.1 million — or $1.85 million per carat.
In December of 2008, Graff spent $24.3 million for the 31-carat fancy deep-blue Wittelsbach Diamond, and in November of 2012, he bought an exceptionally rare deep blue briolette diamond for $10.86 million. That diamond weighed 10.48 carats and was the product of the famous Cullinan mine in South Africa.
The “Trombino” ring, which was designed circa 1965 by Bulgari, sold for nearly four times the pre-auction estimate and set a new world record for the highest price per carat ever paid for a blue diamond — $1.8 million.
The distinctive ring features a cushion-shaped blue diamond set horizontally. It is accented with pavé-set brilliant-cut diamonds and courses of baguette-cut diamonds. According to Bonhams, less than 1 percent of all diamonds mined are blue diamonds.
Collectors from around the world clamored for the privilege of owning the ring. The auction house reported intense bidding from a packed sales room and 25 phone participants.
The victorious Graff also has the distinction of possessing the world's most expensive gemstone — a fancy intense pink diamond known as "The Graff Pink." The 24.78-carat diamond set the record at a Sotheby's auction in November 2010 when he bought it for a staggering $46.1 million — or $1.85 million per carat.
In December of 2008, Graff spent $24.3 million for the 31-carat fancy deep-blue Wittelsbach Diamond, and in November of 2012, he bought an exceptionally rare deep blue briolette diamond for $10.86 million. That diamond weighed 10.48 carats and was the product of the famous Cullinan mine in South Africa.
