The 11.16 carat Bulgari Laguna Blu, the largest blue diamond in a Bulgari piece, and the most valuable gemstone ever sold by Bulgari, will go to auction at Sotheby’s Luxury Week in Geneva May 12, with a pre-sale estimate of more than $25 million. With this announcement, Sotheby’s is poised to complete a trifecta of extraordinary, record-breaking sales of colored stones.
Met Gala debut
The Bulgari Laguna Blu will be unveiled at the forthcoming Met Gala in New York on 1 May, before traveling to Geneva where it will be exhibited at the Mandarin Oriental on May 11, just ahead of its sale. Fashioned in 1970, this exceptional diamond has remained in the same European collection for more than a half-century. This is the first time it has been offered for sale.
The rarest of the rare
Natural blue diamonds are among very rarest of the rare. Only 1 of every 10,000 natural gem quality diamonds displays a fancy color, and only a fraction of those have enough color saturation to be considered ‘fancy intense’ or ‘fancy vivid.’ According to Olivier Wagner of Sotheby’s Geneva:
The Bulgari Laguna Blu is an extraordinary gem in every way. At 11.16 carat, this unmodified pear-shaped blue diamond has received the highest grade for a blue diamond… This true wonder of nature was selected by Bulgari, the prestigious Roman Jewelry Maison, over fifty years ago, to create a ring for a discerning private collector who has kept it ever since. The Bulgari Laguna Blu diamond is bound to become the object of any collector’s dream and we are delighted that it will be first premiered at the always highly anticipated Met Gala’s red carpet.
Trifecta
Highlights of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in June will be the 10.57 carat ‘Eternal Pink’ diamond, estimated at $35 million, and the 55.22 carat ‘Estrela de Fura’, the largest ruby ever to come to market, expected to fetch in excess of $30 million.
