A rare “fancy, vivid blue diamond” ring is on display in Geneva, ahead of an auction next week where it is expected to fetch up to 25 million US dollars.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> The details<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> The gem, named “The Sky Blue Diamond”, weighs 8.01 carats.<br /><br /> It will be sold on November 16.<br /><br /> “Of the blue diamonds submitted to the GIA, it seems only less than 1 percent are graded vivid blue, so it shows you how extremely rare these stones are,” said David Bennet, Chairman of Sotheby’s International jewellery division.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Blue diamond record<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> In the past two years, Sotheby’s has twice set a new world record auction price for a blue diamond.<br /><br /> Most recently, it was the Blue Moon of Josephine, sold for 48.5 million US dollars in November 2015.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Catherine the Great’s necklace<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Among other items to be auctioned by Sotheby’s is a diamond necklace of royal Russian provenance.<br /><br /> Catherine the Great, who ascended to the Russian throne in 1762, is said to have commissioned the necklace.<br />
