Global – Christie’s is honored to showcase Golconda Blue, the largest bright blue diamond ever made. With an extraordinary 23.24 carats, this superb historical stone will be the headlines for Christie’s grand jewelry sale, which took place on May 14, 2025 at Des Bergues in Geneva for an estimated $350-50 million. Finely mounted in the jar, Golconda Blue is a true masterpiece with its recently unrevealed royal origin, fascinating colors and sensational size. It is one of the rarest and most important diamonds found in the entire history.
This outstanding pear-shaped Golconda Diamond has an extraordinary source rooted in the Indian royal family. Yeshwant Rao Holkar was a Maharaja of Maharaja and a member of the Holkar dynasty, known in his wife, a lifestyle defined by the elegance and international elegance of the 1920s and 1930s. The Maharaja was a knight of the Indian Empire order, spending most of his time abroad, fostering a strong affinity for Western art, design, and jewelry.
In 1913, his father obtained the famous Indor pear diamond from Chaumet, marking the beginning of a long-term relationship with the historic Paris Maison. In 1923, during another visit to Chaumet, he commissioned a diamond bracelet with his own 23 carats of pear-shaped Golconda Blue Diamond.
Drawn to the firm’s avant-garde flare, Yeshwant Rao Holkar appointed Mauboussin as his official jeweler in 1933. Thereafter, Mauboussin reimagined much of Maharaja’s collection and created the exceptional necklace, including the Golconda Blue and the Indore Pears, hurt by the Maharani of Indore memorialized in a portrait by Bernard Boutet de Monvel (Note at the top of the release).
Yeshwant Rao Holkar also works with other iconic jewelers including Harry Winston. In 1946, Mr. Winston purchased Indore Pears from Maharaja, and the following year, in January 1947, he obtained the 23-carat blue diamond. Winston then placed it next to a matching 23-carat white diamond in a brooch, which he sold to Maharaha of Varodard. Mr. Winston then reconsidered the brooch and redesigned the jewelry as its current owner for the newly designed design.
Now, over a century later, the legendary blue diamond is the first auctioned, a stunning contemporary ring by famous Parisian designer Jar.
“This outstanding aristocratic jewelry of this ability has been available once in its 259-year history. Christie’s is honored to offer some of the world’s most important Golconda Diamonds, including the example of The Festivallional, with exceptional special sizes. Golconda Blue is truly one of the rarest blue diamonds in the world.”
The legacy of Golconda diamonds begins with references in 4th century Sanskrit manuscripts. In 327 BC, Alexander the Great brought diamonds from India to Europe, triggering a lasting fascination with these rare gems in the West. By 1292, Marco Polo recorded the charming beauty of Indian diamonds in his travel books. Today, Golconda Blue is not only a miracle of nature, but also a legendary jewel, its origins have bridged the dynasties, dynasties and centuries.
