‘Ocean Dream’ has become the most expensive blue-green diamond ever sold at auction
British international auction house Christie’s sold a rare blue-green diamond known as the ‘Ocean Dream’, which was found in Central Africa, for more than $17.3 million at its Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva on Wednesday.
The auction house said the 5.5-carat diamond is the largest brilliant blue-green diamond ever certified by the Gemological Institute of America. It exceeded its original estimate of $8-12 million. It was cut from an 11.70 carat rough stone found in the 1990s.
The gem was shaped into a triangular cut that retained most of the original rough diamond.
Christie’s said the diamond attracted high bids before an unnamed private collector bought it. The bidding lasted about 20 minutes. The auction company said the final price set a new auction record for a diamond of its kind.
The Ocean Dream became widely known after it was featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s ‘Splendor of Diamonds’ exhibition in 2003.
“The Ocean Dream is an exceptional gem, returning to auction for only the second time in its history. Celebrated by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the eight rarest diamonds in the world, it stands as the largest spectacular blue-green diamond ever recorded,” Max Fawcett, global head of Christie’s Jewels, said in a statement released ahead of the sale.
Details about the origin of the diamond, including the mine and the country where it was discovered, have never been made public by gem authorities or auction houses. Christie’s sources and manufacturers have only identified the stone as coming from Central Africa.
The sale follows other high-profile auctions of rare diamonds mined in Africa. In May 2025, Sotheby’s sold the ‘Mediterranean Blue’, a 10.03 carat blue diamond from South Africa’s Cullinan mine, for nearly $21.5 million in Geneva.
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