Christie’s will sell the Cullinan Dream on June 9, the 24.18 carat is the largest fancy intense blue diamond ever offered at auction.
The diamond will headline the Christie’s New York Magnificent Jewels auction. Hot on the heels of the May 18 sale of the Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for $57.5 million USD, setting a new record for any jewel at auction.
The sale of the 14.62 ct. Oppenheimer diamond broke an earlier record price for another blue gem, the Blue Moon, which sold for $48.5 million in November and still holds the record for a per carat price. Christie’s has given the Cullinan stone it a $23 – $29 million sale estimate.
The Cullinan is relatively new diamond but is notable for its provenance, It is one of four blues cut from a piece of 122.52 ct. blue rough recovered in 2014 at the legendary Cullinan mine in South Africa.