Rare 'Ocean Dream' blue-green diamond sells for $17 mn at auction

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Geneva: The ‘Ocean Dream,’ the largest blue-green diamond ever recorded, sold for $17.3 million at a Christie’s auction in Geneva on Wednesday.

The 5.5-carat gem set a new world record for a diamond of its specific color at auction, nearly doubling its previous sale price of $8.5 million from 2014. Extracted from Central Africa in the 1990s, the Smithsonian Institution recognizes it as one of the eight rarest diamonds in the world.

The triangular, fancy vivid stone is a Type Ia diamond, marking it among the purest natural gems. Three international bidders competed for the jewel before it was claimed by an anonymous winner.

Experts noted that finding a green diamond of this quality over five carats is ‘truly remarkable’. The gem was previously showcased at the Smithsonian’s ‘Splendor of Diamonds’ exhibit in 2003.