Rare Blue Diamonds
Blue diamonds are extremely rare, but by no means the rarest of the fancy coloured diamonds. The most rare diamonds are red, green, purple and orange, then pink and blue diamonds.
Fancy Coloured Diamonds
Most diamonds fall within the D – Z colour scale and their value generally decreases the further down the alphabet you go, as the colour tint becomes more obvious.
However, this is not the case with “fancy” coloured diamonds. Only one in 10,000 diamonds has a “fancy” colour. “Fancy” colours are just about all the colours you can think of. The value of any particular colour lies in the rarity of the colour, and slight differences in shade can have a big impact on cost.
The Blue Moon of Josephine – the Most Expensive Diamond in the World
Most blue diamonds have a slight grey tint to them. Blue diamonds with very strong colour are among the rarest diamonds in the world.
In 2015 a 12.03ct. blue diamond known as the “Blue Moon” sold at auction for $48.4 million. The “Blue Moon” was graded by the GIA as “Fancy Vivid Blue” – the highest possible grade it could be given. It was also graded as being Flawless. In fancy coloured diamonds, the value of the diamond lies more in the colour of the diamond, rather than it’s clarity grading. Although in this case, the fact that it was graded as Flawless (insofar as it is possible to speculate on these things), probably added to the price, as Flawless is pretty special and does make the stone even more unique.
The buyer renamed “Blue Moon” as the “Blue Moon of Josephine” after his daughter, Josephine. The price paid by the purchaser made it the most expensive diamond in the world, with the auctioneer stating that it was the “highest price per carat” ever obtained.
Click on the following link for more information about Coloured Diamonds
