By RIA Novosti
Hong Kong : A flawless 6.04 carat blue diamond has been sold for $7.98 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong, making it the world’s most expensive precious gemstone per carat.
A spokesman for Sotheby’s said the diamond, which sold for $1.32 million per carat, broke the previous record held by a red diamond, the Hancock Red, which went for around $900,000 per carat in 1987.
The diamond was bought by Moussaieff Jewellers to add to their already large collection of rare gemstones. The seller was a private Asian collector.
Blue diamonds, whose distinctive colour is due to a trace amount of boron in the stones, are extremely rare. The blue Hope Diamond, currently held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, is the largest in the world, at 45.52 carats.