All eyes will be on "The Golconda Blue" on May 14 as the largest fancy vivid blue diamond ever to appear at auction goes under the hammer at Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva. Weighing in at 23.24 carats, this exceptional and historic stone carries a pre-sale estimate of $35 million to $50 million and is poised to rival the prices achieved by the most famous blue diamonds in history.
Set in a ring by celebrated Parisian jeweler JAR, The Golconda Blue is far more than an impressive fancy-colored diamond. Its royal provenance can be traced back to Yeshwant Rao Holkar, the Maharaja of Indore, a style icon of the 1920s and 1930s, whose passion for fine jewelry led him to work with design houses, such as Chaumet, Mauboussin and Harry Winston.
Originally acquired by Holkar’s father, the pear-shaped blue diamond was first set into a bracelet in 1923. A decade later, Holkar commissioned Mauboussin to redesign it into an Art Deco necklace worn by his wife, the Maharani, and immortalized in a portrait by artist Bernard Boutet de Monvel.
In 1947, the stone changed hands again, acquired by Harry Winston, who crafted it into a brooch alongside a 23-carat white diamond. The piece was sold to the Maharaja of Baroda before Winston reacquired and eventually sold it to its current owner.
Now, The Golconda Blue is making its first-ever appearance at auction, reimagined in a ring that marries the artistry of JAR with the rarity of the diamond itself. The provenance and pedigree of this gem are virtually unmatched, but it is the stone’s origin that makes it even more extraordinary.
As its name implies, The Golconda Blue hails from the famed Golconda mines of India — a region revered as the birthplace of the world’s most legendary gems, including the "Hope Diamond," "Koh-i-Noor," "Regent Diamond," "Orlov Diamond," "Idol’s Eye," "Princie Diamond" and "Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond."
Golconda diamonds are known for their remarkable purity, transparency and lack of nitrogen, characteristics that contribute to their luminous clarity. In today’s gemological terms, they are classified as Type IIa — the highest quality grade for diamonds.
“Over the course of its 259-year history, Christie’s has had the honor of offering some of the world’s most important Golconda diamonds,” said Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International Head of Jewelry. “With its royal heritage, extraordinary color and exceptional size, The Golconda Blue is truly one of the rarest blue diamonds in the world.”
This historic offering follows in the footsteps of other blue diamond milestones, such as the $57.54 million sale of the 14.62-carat “Oppenheimer Blue” at Christie’s Geneva in 2016 and the $57.47 million sale of the 15.10-carat “De Beers Blue” at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2022.
The Golconda Blue will be touring Christie's locations in Hong Kong, Bangkok and New York before returning to Geneva just ahead of the sale.
As the countdown to May 14 continues, The Golconda Blue stands poised not only to challenge these auction records, but also to etch its name into the pantheon of history’s most storied blue diamonds.
Credits: Photos courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2025.