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Rare blue diamond smashes auction records in Asia
A rare blue diamond has gone up for sale and smashed auction records in Asia.
The 10.10 carat rock, named the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, is the largest oval-shaped, fancy vivid blue diamond to ever appear at auction world.
Billed by Sotheby's as "yet another wonderful collecting opportunity for connoisseurs worldwide", it has sold for $31.8 million -- which makes it the most expensive gemstone to be sold at an auction in Asia.
Blue Moon
Blue diamonds are considered to be one of the rarest of gems, making up just a small percentage of all diamonds harvested worldwide.
Rare blue diamond smashes Asia auction records
But while this blue beauty has broken all records for sales of the gem in Asia, its value still falls short of the world's most expensive diamond.
That title went to the 12.03 carat "Blue Moon" diamond, sold in Geneva, Switzerland, to a Hong Kong billionaire for his seven-year-old daughter in November 2015 for $48.4million.
Magnificent jewels
The 'De Beers Millennium Jewel 4' went on auction as part of a 270 lot 'Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite', sale by auction house Sotheby's on April 5 in Hong Kong.
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The auction included some of the world's rarest colored diamonds.
It currently holds an estimated combined value of over $96 million.
April could be a busy month for blue diamond sales, with a blue diamond ring once owned by Shirley Temple also up for auction by Sotheby's just a few days later in the U.S.