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The 12-carat cushion-cut Blue Moon diamond.


The rough stone from which the Blue Moon was eventually cut.

  122.52-carat blue diamond sells for 'disappointing' $27.6 million


October 2, 2014


A 122.52-carat blue diamond discovered by Petra Diamonds at its Cullinan mine in South Africa in June has been sold for $27.6 million, which is below the figure that analysts had predicted it would fetch.

According to Petra, it itself is involved in the partnership that purchased the diamond, which includes a polishing partner that has requested to remain anonymous. The deal involves Petra receiving 85 percent, or $23.5 million, of the agreed sale value immediately, and 15 percent of the proceeds upon the sale of the polished stone.

The blue stone, which is one of fewer than five blue diamonds weighing more than 100 carats ever discovered, is the largest blue diamond found at the South African mine by Petra since it bought the facility from De Beers in 2008. Since January, Petra has mined three large diamonds at Cullinan, two of which are blue.

"Whilst this is less than the $35 million to $40 million I had in my figures, given that the company does share in the upside it is not a disastrous number," Panmure Gordon analyst Alison Turner said, as quoted by Reuters. "Colored stones are particularly difficult to price given the intensity of the color can lift the value by a factor of 10 times relative to an equivalent white."

Another blue diamond mined by Petra at Cullinan is the 12-carat, cushion-cut aqua blue gem known as the "Blue Moon." It may provide clues about the earth's origin, said Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The stone is valued at $25.6 million.

What sets the Blue Moon apart is that, unlike other such stones, which when exposed to ultra-violet light emit off a blue-green glow for short lengths of time, Blue Moon displays an orangey-red phosphorescent glow for about 20 seconds.

Originally called the Premier mine, the Cullinan Mine became famous is 1905 when the 3,106.75-carat Cullinan Diamond, the largest rough diamond of gem quality ever found, was discovered on site by De Beers. The mine is known as the only significant source of blue diamonds in the world.

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