An extremely rare blue diamond ring will lead Bonhams Fine Jewelry sale on 24th April 2013. The fancy deep-blue diamond is set in a ‘Trombino’ ring made by Bulgari, the renowned Italian jeweler favored by Hollywood film stars, and the epitome of fashion and innovation during the 1960s. The ring was made circa 1965 and is estimated to fetch £1,000,000 to 1,500,000 at auction.
Blue diamonds are very rarely seen on the market and fancy-coloured diamonds are among the most valuable and sought-after in the world. They have delighted royals and celebrities over the centuries, with the most famous blue ‘Hope Diamond’ bought by King Louis XIV of France in the late 17th Century. The stunning 45.52-carat diamond, originating from India was eventually stolen from the Crown Jewels by thieves in the French Revolution and then smuggled to London, finally coming to rest in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C.
In September 2011, Bonhams sold a fancy vivid-blue diamond ring by Bulgari for £1,900,000. The ring, set with two pear-shaped diamonds, one white and the other fancy vivid-blue generated unprecedented interest, more than doubling the pre-sale estimate. In April this year, the Bulgari ring features a cushion-shaped fancy deep-blue diamond, weighing 5.30 carats. It is set horizontally within a mount pavé-set with brilliant-cut diamonds and courses of baguette-cut diamonds.
The term “fancy” is used to describe a diamond of intense color and the color “fancy deep-blue” is one of the rarest. The extraordinary color blue is derived from small atoms of boron mixing with the carbon atoms in a diamond, affecting the absorption of light passing through the stone and lending it a blue appearance.
Blue diamonds are structurally very pure and account for less than one per cent of all diamonds mined.