It has forever been a well-known fact that diamonds, gemstones, and jewellery auctioned by Sotheby’s have inspired intrigue and desire in people of all ages. The auction house continues to serve as a platform for access to the rarest, most coveted, and valued pieces.
Recently, Sotheby’s jewellery department has embarked on strategic changes aimed at maximising visibility among a broader clientele and designed to meet clients' needs more easily through various formats and services. The flagship sales, formerly called Magnificent Jewels, have been renamed ‘High Jewelry’, in line with Sotheby’s overall growth plans and its accelerated expansion of jewellery offerings. What remains intact and unchanged, however, is the extraordinary quality and rarity of the jewels on offer and the superlative client experience provided by the auction house’s specialists.
Geneva Flagship Sale – High Jewelry Auction
Repositioned and rebranded under the High Jewelry banner, the upcoming event in Geneva is a true highlight of the auction calendar. Rare pieces from the world’s most esteemed Haute Joaillerie houses – vintage jewels, spectacular diamonds, and precious coloured stones – will all fall under the hammer this May at Sotheby's Geneva office, the major global centre for jewellery auctions. The extraordinary quality of the pieces on display is what makes the event so unprecedented. The highlight of the auction will be represented by The Mediterranean Blue – an exceptionally rare and striking Fancy Vivid Blue diamond, weighing 10.03 carats. Having recently been discovered and polished into a cushion shape, the gem ranks among the most important coloured diamonds ever auctioned by Sotheby’s.
The auction department relies on rigorous expert appraisals, often backed by international laboratories and GIA reports. Sotheby’s Geneva consistently enjoys outstanding results for important and noble jewels sales, such as the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels and the world record set in Geneva in 2016 with the highest-ever total for any jewellery auction – $175 million for the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale.
An Extraordinary Natural Treasure
Diamonds inspire love and curiosity as precious gifts of the natural world. But there is one in particular that commands admiration as a precious natural treasure – the great Mediterranean Blue, a 10.03 carat blue diamond featured in the High Jewelry sale in Geneva. The rarest of all coloured diamonds, discerning collectors, connoisseurs, and aficionados often reserve one word to describe it: breathtaking.
Blue diamonds are a unique phenomenon of nature. Only 0.3% of all diamonds display a colour that is predominantly blue, out of which only a very small subsection qualifies as Fancy Vivid Blue. Their fascinating hue is typically the result of trace amounts of boron within the crystal lattice – an element scarcely found, making their existence all the more remarkable. Revered for centuries, blue appears to hold a universal allure. The deeper the blue, the more it beckons the senses into the infinite, arousing a longing for purity and calm. Its enduring beauty, steeped in mystery and elegance, continues to drive interest in collectors and connoisseurs. The Mediterranean Blue is accompanied by a GIA report confirming it as Fancy Vivid Blue, with Natural Colour and VS2 clarity, alongside a GIA monograph detailing the origins, chemical composition, and grading of blue diamonds. The monograph describes the stone as a remarkable example of one of nature’s rarest and most beguiling colour expressions. Prepared exclusively for The Mediterranean Blue, the monograph offered the GIA an opportunity to share new scientific insights into the origins of blue diamonds. Through research, they confirmed that blue diamonds form deeper within the Earth’s mantle than any other type of diamond. The GIA also uncovered a natural connection between blue diamonds and oceanic waters, deepening the poetic resonance of their colour.
Cutting The Mediterranean Blue
Discovered in South Africa as a substantial 31.93-carat rough, The Mediterranean Blue underwent a cutting and polishing process of exceptional care and precision that lasted well over six months. The result is a refined brilliant-cut diamond modified into a cushion shape, its transformation documented through a series of photographs that recreate a rare visual chronicle of the stone’s journey from rough to polished gem. The art of cutting blue diamonds is a complex discipline that involves several stages. Unlike other coloured diamonds, blue diamonds often appear as irregular, asymmetrical crystals, with colour that may be unevenly distributed. Achieving a harmonious balance of hue and form requires intensive study of the stone’s crystallographic structure, paired with a high degree of expertise.
To reveal its full potential, traditional cutting techniques were adapted. The cushion shape – chosen for its historic pedigree, echoing legendary stones such as the Régent and Cullinan II – was deemed the most fitting. Its softened edges and balanced proportions perfectly reveal the diamond’s Fancy Vivid Blue hue, lending it a flawless appearance.
This considered approach, grounded in tradition and refined by modern technique, has brought forth a stone of rare beauty and profound distinction that is, in many respects, perfect according to every critical criterion.
Final Note
The Mediterranean Blue is a work of passion and a vessel that carries the tales of Earth’s soul further while drawing on its special connection with the sea, its colour creating a striking visual parallel between the two. A spectacular example of one of the rarest colour sensations encountered in a diamond, The Mediterranean Blue continues to impress and fascinate all those whose gazes fall upon it. Its attributes – exceptional clarity, having been declared Internally Flawless by the GIA, weighing 10.03 carats in the rarest colour range – are truly exemplary for a diamond.
The Mediterranean Blue goes on tour this April, commencing on the 8th of April in Abu Dhabi, at Al Saadiyat Island – Cultural District. With stop-overs in New York and Hong Kong, The Mediterranean Blue Diamond Tour concludes in Geneva on the 10th of May, ahead of the High Jewelry auction on the 13th.
