Exceedingly Rare 3.50 Carat Natural Fancy Blue VS1 Diamond Debuts At Heritage Auctions

Among the rarest in the world, 3.50 carat natural fancy blue VS1 diamond platinum art deco ring by Caldwell expected to bring $1+ million at April 29 Jewelry Signature Auction event

DALLAS — One the world's rarest colored diamonds, a 3.50 carat natural fancy blue VS1 diamond is expected to bring $1+ million at Heritage Auctions' Jewelry Signature® Auction April 29. Highly sought after for its rare coloration, placing it in the same class that includes the famous Hope Diamond, the diamond is the largest of its kind ever offered by Heritage.

"Blue is among the most desirable of all diamond colors and this fancy blue diamond ring ranks among the rarest gems available in the world," said Jill Burgum, Senior Director of Fine Jewelry at Heritage, "and with the auction prices of colored diamonds on the rise every year, we expect strong interest in a stone of this size and rarity."

Blue diamonds of this clarity are highly desirable and such specimens are rarely offered at auction. Formed deep within the Earth, the blue color marks the presence of trace amounts of boron. So rare are these blue gems that most diamond professionals may never see an example during their entire careers.

Designed by the famed J.E. Caldwell & Co., the Art Deco ring features a natural fancy blue marquise-shaped diamond enhanced by full, single and baguette-cut diamonds set in platinum. In fact, Caldwell & Co. was so proud of the beauty and craftsmanship of this particular ring that it was used in a 1927 company advertisement and described as "a degree of quality, beauty and importance rarely obtainable."

It appears at auction directly from its original owners, a private New England estate.

This is the second impressive diamond Heritage has brought to auction in the last year: in December 2012 it sold a totally colorless and internally flawless 9.26 carat GIA D/IF Type IIa unmounted diamond for $902,500 — a new house record. Earlier the same year, another house record was set after a Kashmir sapphire, diamond, platinum ring sold for $527,500.