The Royal Blue Diamond Reported to be Worth $9.8 Million

August 28th, 2013 by Noam Flint

Natural Colored diamonds are rare in their own right, but fancy blue diamonds are among the hardest to come by of all of these gems. Recently, Sotheby’s announced it would be auctioning off the 7.59-carat diamond “Premier Blue”, and now “Royal Blue,” a brilliant cut diamond, has been making headlines too. This 10.06-carat gem is being sold by M.S. Rau Antiques in New Orleans, and it may bring in just as much cash as its circle-cut counterpart.

‘Royal Blue’ waves rock diamond world

The gemstone getting so much attention is far from cheap, as Mining.com reports M.S. Rau has priced it at $9.8 million. It is not the only gem the buyer will get, however, as the pale blue stone is set in a platinum and rose gold ring and surrounded by white and pink diamonds. Forbes indicates the barely blue coloration of the rock has a VVS1 clarity grade, which is just one step away from being completely flawless, according to the GIA scale.

What is the GIA scale?

The Gemological Institute of America is a nonprofit organization that researches and provides education on the world of gems and jewelry. Its GIA scale rates the quality of a diamond or other gemstones based on the four Cs – carat weight, color grade, clarity grade and cut grade. This is now the universal method of valuing diamonds, as prior to the mid-20th century, gemstone experts could not agree on one way to evaluate jewels.

Why are blue diamonds so rare?

While colored diamonds in general are far from common, those with a natural blue hue make up less than 0.03 percent of the lot, Forbes reports, which is what allows M.S. Rau and Sotheby’s to place such high price tags on their gems.

Blue diamonds are rarely discovered and only a few have been found over centuries of mining, making it one of the rarest gems in the world,

said Robert Procop, a world renowned gem expert, according to Forbes.

(They) have also been the most gifted by royalty and historical figures, making them the most mysterious and precious of jewels. I rarely see a blue diamond that I do not admire.

Why will the Premier sell for more than the Royal?

A separate Forbes article indicates that the Premier Blue is estimated to sell for around $19 million at auction and we estimated that due to all that’s been going on at the latest auctions, it would sell for more than 20 million. The Royal Blue will probably bring in less than $10 million. Yet, the Royal Blue is nearly two and a half carats heavier than the Premier Blue, so many people may be wondering why the lighter diamond is set to sell for about twice as much. There are a few reasons for the Premier Blue’s higher value.

For one, The GIA has graded the Premier as internally flawless. Even in more common diamonds , like yellows and even colorless, a respected premium is given to IF clarity. Even when it is compared to vvs1 like the Royal Blue which is “only” one clarity degree less. And when it comes to diamonds that are more exclusive, like 5 carat and above (or extremely rare blue diamonds) the premium is very significant. Additionally, the round shape is rare for any colored diamond and lastly – the Premier color intensity is Vivid while the Royal is a Fancy. To put the intensity effect into proportions, we currently have 1.50 carat vivid yellow on sale for $15,000 while a similar fancy yellow will cost around $7,500 – half the price. This very rare combination has earned the Premier the credit for being the largest round vivid blue diamond GIA has ever encountered – making it truly one of a kind.

No significant round fancy vivid blue diamond has ever appeared at auction worldwide, thus making the Premier Blue a rare and exceptional gem,

a Sotheby’s representative explained to Forbes.

The Premier Blue, while it has been cut, is not in a setting, while the Royal Blue has already been placed into a ring, which could potentially bring down the value and narrow the scope of potential buyers. It’s also got a few imperfections, which really highlights just how meticulous and intricate the diamond buying process is.