The Largest Blue Diamond Ever Up For Auction Could Be Yours for $45 Million

Diamonds aren't all created equal. According to Gizmodo, Christie's Auction House recently announced that a 14.62 carat blue diamond, nicknamed the Oppenheimer Blue, will be sold at auction this May. The emerald-cut gem, worth an estimated value of between $38 and $45 million, is the largest Vivid Blue diamond ever to appear at auction.

Named after its previous owner, the late Sir Philip Oppenheimer, the diamond is described by Christie's Chairman François Curiel in the video above as having "perfect hue, impeccable proportions, and [a] fabulous rectangular shape."

Those details are part of what makes the gem so rare. Rahul Kadakia, Christie's head of jewelry, told CNBC that less than 2 percent of the diamonds found in the world are blue, and only 10 percent of them are larger than a carat.

"Blue diamonds range from a very faint baby blue, a powder blue, to a dark, dark-indigo blue [that's] almost too dark," Kadakia said. "Vivid is the purest, most open, almost a happy blue color."

Kadakia called the estimate "a bargain" in comparison to the per-carat selling prices of other blue diamonds. In fact, CNBC estimated that the Oppenheimer Blue could hit the $58 million mark, or higher. The "Magnificent Jewels" auction is scheduled to take place in Geneva on May 18, which gives you a month and a half to save up.

[h/t Gizmodo]

Images via Christie's.