Rare Blue Diamond Sets All Time Record

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oi-Staff

By Staff

Friday, December 12, 2008, 14:17

A rare blue diamond weighing 35.56 carat of the Wittelsbach family since 1722, has broken the other world records by fetching a whopping amount of 16.3 million pounds at an auction.

The grey blue in colour stone had been anticipated to fetch up to 9 million pounds at Christie"s Geneva auction, reports the Telegraph. However it surpassed in sale and sheen, the other diamonds sold under the hammer that set a world record when Bond Street jeweller Laurence Graff made the whopping bid.

The Whittelbach Diamond, a priced, private property of the Whittelbach family boasts of a 300 years history, being the inheritance of the family since 1722.

The coloured sparkler owes its history back to the year 1664 when it was gifted as a part of dowry by King Philip IV of Spain to his teenage daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa. The princess was engaged to her uncle Leopold I of Austria, who later became the Holy Roman Emperor. However the rare blue beauty's origin has been traced back to the Indian diamond mines which passed on to the heirs and found its way to a German dynasty, The Wittelsbach family in 1772 to be christened as "Der Blaue Wittelsbacher".

According to the words of FranÇois Curiel, chairman of Christie''s Europe and its international head of jewellery, said: "It is a great honour and a lifetime dream to handle a museum quality stone such as the Wittelsbach.

The appearance of a large blue diamond, among the rarest of colours, with a history that can be traced back to the 17th century and 300 years of royal connections will surely be a thrilling occasion for all collectors of exceedingly rare jewels and works of art."

The Blue Beauty, so far the crowning glory amidst its category stones.