A 14.62-carat blue diamond, has sold at Christie’s auction house in Geneva for a new world record price for the diamond type.
The large diamond known as the Oppenheimer Blue sold under the hammer for $50.6 million (USD) or (£34.7m).
The sale took nearly 20 minutes to complete as the phone lines were filled to capacity with those wanting to own the rare gem.
The diamond had expected to reach the high mark of $45 million, but exceeded that estimate rather quickly before the hammer fell.
Christie’s did not identify the buyer of the diamond.
A diamond sold by Sotheby’s in 2013 for a world record price, of $83 million – but the sale was never completed as the buyer could not afford the price he had bid – in the end the diamond was taken back by the auction house.
Oppenheimer diamonds received their name from the late Sir Philip Oppenheimer, a worker at de Beers who ran the entire diamond syndicate in London during his time.