A rare blue diamond that has spent the past 300 years in Europe’s royal houses has been sold at auction in Geneva for $6.7m (£5m).
The Farnese Blue was given as a wedding present to Elizabeth Farnese, daughter of the Duke of Parma, when she married Philip V of Spain in 1715.
It then passed down through the generations, moving from Spain to France, Italy and Austria.
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The 6.1 carat diamond comes from the famous Golconda mine of India.
It sold after just four minutes of bidding at Sotheby’s, easily passing the auction house’s estimate of $3.5m-$5m.
“We were expecting a good result but we started from $3.5m and we ended up with $6.7m, so we exceeded our expectation,” said Sotheby’s jewellery specialist, Daniela Mascetti.
“Good jewels, well-designed, well-made, with a signature, with a perfect… slot in time, in age, do very well.”
According to the auctioneers’ website, the pear-shaped diamond once formed part of a tiara owned by the ill-fated French Queen Marie Antoinette.
The identity of the new owner has not been revealed.
