Tonight, three world-class diamonds, discovered 300 years apart, dazzled in Sothebys Geneva jewellery sale. One of the foremost historic diamonds known to man, The Farnese Blue, soared to CHF 6,719,750 ($6,713,837), well above estimate (lot 377, est. CHF 3.5 5 million / $3.6 5.2 million). Given to Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain, as a wedding present in 1715 and subsequently passed down through four of the most important royal families in Europe, the mesmerising 6.16-carat pear-shaped blue diamond was appearing on the market for the first time this evening, after three centuries in the same family. Alongside it were two highly impressive white diamonds, a 51.71-carat round diamond and a 50.39-carat oval diamond which both sold above the high estimate for CHF 9,260,000 ($9,251,851) (lot 350, est. CHF 7 7.7 million / $ 7.3 8 million) and CHF 8,131,000 / $ 8,123,845 (lot
|