A historic and rare Golconda vivid blue diamond, previously belonging to the Maharaja of Indore, Yeshwant Rao Holkar, will be sold at Christie’s on May 14. The diamond is over 23 carats and will fetch between $35 million and $50 million, with sources suggesting it might become the largest fancy blue diamond ever sold publicly.
The history of the diamond is traced to 1913 when Indore’s ruler, Tukoji Rao Holkar III, purchased the well-known Indore Pear diamonds from French luxury jeweler Chaumet. A decade later, he asked Chaumet to mount the Golconda Blue in a bracelet. In 1933, Holkar appointed Parisian jewelry firm Mauboussin as official jeweler, prompting the production of a long flowing necklace featuring the Golconda Blue and the Indore Pears.
New York jeweler Harry Winston bought the Indore Pears in 1946 and then cut them into 44.14 and 46.39 carats and incorporated them into his own collection. He added to his collection the Golconda Blue diamond when he acquired it in January of 1947 and mounted it in a brooch, combined with a 23-carat white diamond. Winston subsequently sold the brooch to the Maharaja of Baroda, prior to repurchasing and remanufacturing it as a new design item, ending the diamond’s association with Indian royalty.
Christie’s has reported that the present owners of the diamond are the ones who decided to sell it within the family, and they are keen on going in for a sale. A Christie’s representative said, “The historic provenance of the Golconda Blue, revealed through Christie’s research, has created significant market interest and widespread excitement internationally.” They also made it clear that the sale was a personal one and had nothing to do with financial considerations, like tariffs or the movement of the market.
