De Beers Blue Diamond Fetched £ 4.2 Million At An Auction

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The rock, which had been expected to fetch 3 million to 3.8 million at Sotheby's, was ultimately purchased for 4,221,533 pounds.

The diamond is one among the 12 that De Beers had put together for the turn of the millennium and was showcased at London's Dome (now the O2 arena) in 2000.

"There have been a lot of new diamond buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and elsewhere in the south east Asia region," says Terry Chu, Deputy Head of Sotheby's Jewellery Department for China and South-East Asia.

One of the reasons for its high price was traced to the fact that after the financial crisis, the Asian buyers realised that the prices of diamond are relatively stable compared to other types of auction items.