Dubbed The Golconda Blue, this extraordinary pear-shaped gem is the largest fancy vivid blue diamond ever offered at auction. With a pre-sale estimate ranging from $35 million to $50 million, it could rank among the most valuable blue diamonds ever sold.
The stone is set in a distinctive contemporary ring by acclaimed Parisian designer JAR, known for his bold, artistic interpretations of high jewellery.
Beyond its impressive stats and striking design, The Golconda Blue carries a rich legacy. Mined over a century ago from the famed Golconda region in southern India—once the sole source of the world’s diamonds—the gem is a testament to the enduring mystique of the mines that produced the Hope Diamond and the Koh-i-Noor.
The Golconda region’s diamond history dates back to antiquity, with references found in a 4th-century Sanskrit text. European fascination began as early as 327 BC, when Alexander the Great introduced Indian diamonds to the West. By the 13th century, travellers like Marco Polo were marvelling at their brilliance.
This particular diamond has royal provenance, once belonging to Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar II of Indore, a progressive and stylish ruler celebrated for his embrace of modern design and Western art. Educated in England and honoured as a Knight of the Order of the Indian Empire, the Maharaja lived a life of opulence and innovation during the glamorous interwar years.
His connection to fine jewels was well documented—his father, Tukoji Rao Holkar III, famously acquired the magnificent Indore Pears from Chaumet in 1913. A decade later, in 1923, the Maharaja commissioned a bespoke bracelet from the same jeweller featuring his own 23-carat pear-shaped blue diamond—now known as The Golconda Blue.
A symbol of rarity, craftsmanship, and history, the diamond is expected to ignite intense bidding when it goes under the hammer at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues. Its appearance at auction marks a once-in-a-generation opportunity for collectors and connoisseurs alike.
