A rare and flawless cushion-shaped blue diamond is expected to sell for between $5.8 million and $8.5 million when it goes up for auction at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva on May 12.

The buyer will also choose a name for the diamond. Petra Diamonds said that the stone ranks amongst the most important blue diamonds ever to be offered for sale at Sotheby’s.

Discovered in Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa, the 7.03ct diamond was cut from a 26.58ct rough stone.

It has received the highest possible grading from The Gemological Institute of America, which marked it as a fancy vivid blue colour and internally flawless in clarity.

The magnificent gem will first be exhibited in Hong Kong, Paris, New York and London.

“Rough-diamond prices currently aren’t that good, so we decided to go this route and ensure the stone gets maximum exposure,” Johan Dippenaar, Petra’s chief executive, told Bloomberg News.

The world’s most expensive blue diamond is the 17th century Blue Wittelsbach Diamond, which sold for $24.3 million at Christie’s last December.

Via: Telegraph/Retail-Jeweller