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The Golconda Blue: A Legend Reawakens at Christie’s

The Golconda Blue: A Legend Reawakens at Christie’s May 1, 2025Art Auction, Geneva, High-Jewelry0 Comments

CROWNED IN BLUE: THE LEGENDARY GOLCONDA DIAMOND RETURNS TO CHRISTIE’S
By Shari Inessa

Auction Date: Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale – 15 May 2025

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Some diamonds sparkle. Others carry the weight of dynasties.

This May, a stone of exquisite legend returns to the spotlight as Christie’s Geneva unveils The Golconda Blue—a 23.24-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond so rare, so steeped in history, it transcends mere ornament to become an object of reverence.

A singular jewel with a story cut deep into the past, this is not just a highlight of the Magnificent Jewels Sale on 15 May 2025—it is the very soul of it.

From the Neck of a Queen to the Eyes of the World

The Golconda Blue was once the sovereign centrepiece of a breathtaking Art Deco sautoir designed by Mauboussin, Paris’s revered maison of bold geometry and old-world refinement. But it was Maharani Sanyogitabai Devi of Indore, the magnetic queen consort of one of India’s most progressive royal houses, who gave the stone its soul.

Poised, radiant, and intellectually ahead of her time, the Maharani wore the diamond not as a symbol of wealth, but of womanhood and modernity. She was immortalised by the celebrated French painter Bernard Boutet de Monvel, her portrait capturing not only her regal bearing but the mystery and brilliance of the jewel resting elegantly at her breast.

Left: Fancy vivid blue pear shaped diamond of 23.24 carats, set by JAR, estimate: $35- 50 million

Right: Sanyogitabai Devi of Indore (1914-1937), H.H. The Maharani of Indore, wearing the Golconda Blue

mounted in an Art Deco Mauboussin sautoir, Portrait by Bernard Boutet de Monvel (1881-1949)

A Blue Born of Earth and Myth

Sourced from the sacred Golconda mines—the birthplace of the world’s most fabled diamonds—this pear-shaped marvel belongs to a vanishing breed. Golconda diamonds are known for their Type IIa purity, a structural perfection found in less than 2% of all natural diamonds. Add to that a Fancy Vivid Blue grading—earth’s rarest blue hue—and you have a masterpiece of nature and nobility.

Christie’s has placed a pre-sale estimate of $35–50 million on this celestial stone. But how do you appraise something that defies value? A gem that has danced through royal courts and crossed centuries with its light untouched?

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The Jewel of the Season

The Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale is always a high point in the world of haute joaillerie, but this year, it feels like a coronation. The Golconda Blue is not merely a collector’s dream; it’s an emblem of something greater—timeless femininity, intellectual grace, and the art of legacy itself.

Where will it go next? A discreet European collection? The collarbone of a 21st-century heiress? Or will it quietly return to history’s hush, resting out of sight until the world is ready once more?

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Shari’s Final Whisper

Some diamonds are worn. Others are remembered.
But The Golconda Blue? It endures.
She is history, beauty, and power incarnate.
And above all—she is unforgettable.

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The Golconda Blue will be presented during the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Sale in Geneva on 15 May 2025.
For details and viewing appointments, visit christies.com.

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