‘Mellon Blue’ diamond sells for $25.6 million at Swiss auction

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‘Mellon Blue’ diamond sells for $25.6 million at Swiss auction

9:56 CAT | 12 Nov 2025

FILE - A model wears a ring set with the Mellon Blue, a 9.51-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond graded Internally Flawless and estimated at $20-30 million, during an auction preview at Christie's in Geneva, Switzerland, November 7, 2025. [File poto: Reuters/Denis Balibouse]

A blue diamond weighing nearly 10 carats has sold at auction in Switzerland for 20.5 million Swiss francs ($25.6 million) including fees.

The pear-shaped 9.51-carat “Mellon Blue” — named for the late American arts patron Rachel “Bunny” Mellon — had been expected to fetch $20-$30 million at the Christie’s auction on Tuesday.

The house said the stone came in on the estimated range. The final price includes the “buyer’s premium” and other fees.

“Not the dazzling moment I expected,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of online jeweller 77 Diamonds. He said the gem was “tipped as the season’s headline act” but was weighed down by a broader market mood.

“Geopolitical tensions — from the war in Ukraine to Trump’s tariffs — and a weakened Chinese economy that kept many usual buyers away, left the room distinctly cautious,” he said in a statement.

Auctioneer Rahul Kadakia, chairman of the global luxury group at Christie’s, hailed a “notable moment” for his team, “evidencing the elite appetite among collectors for extraordinary and storied gems.”

It was a far cry from the peak sale for a blue diamond: Christie’s says its highest price for a vivid blue diamond was set in Geneva in 2016 when the 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue sold for more than $57 million.

The Mellon Blue was previously sold in 2014, the year that Mellon died, for $32.6 million, which was one of the highest prices ever paid for a coloured diamond at auction, Christie’s says.

For decades, the stone was part of Mellon’s private collection.

Max Fawcett, Christie’s global head of jewellery, said the Mellon Blue was unlike the vast majority of other modern gems that have had facets added and been modified to enhance the color.

“When you have great shape and great color, you’re looking at the gem of gems,” he said Friday, noting the stone’s grade of Fancy Vivid Blue and Internally Flawless by the Gemmological Institute of America. “That’s what this is.”

The auction was the first instalment of two days of jewellery auctions in Geneva. On Wednesday, rival Sotheby’s is putting up the “Glowing Rose” pink diamond that’s expected to draw bids of around $20 million.

Source: AP