25.5 ct Blue Diamond Discovered in South Africa

(IDEX Online News) – An exceptionally large blue diamond has been discovered in South Africa. The 25.5-carat blue diamond, discovered at the Cullinan Mine earlier this month, is reportedly a high quality gem of top color.

On Wednesday, Petra Diamonds announced the recovery of the blue diamond at the Cullinan mine in South Africa earlier this month.

Blue diamonds have fetched very high prices in recent years, with demand from investors exceeding supply. A few weeks ago a fancy intense blue, VS1 heart shape diamond weighing 3.04 carats was auctioned for $2.2 million, or $714,000 per carat.

The Cullinan mine is the leading source of blues in the world. Since Petra Diamonds acquired the mine, it has produced a number of blue diamonds, including a 26.6-carat stone that yielded a fancy vivid blue, internally flawless 7.0 carat polished stone. It sold for $9.49 million or $1.35 million per carat in May 2009.

At the time it was the highest price per carat paid for any gemstone sold at auction and the highest price for a fancy vivid blue diamond sold at auction.