South Asia What’s the ‘Golconda Blue’ diamond, once owned by Indian royalty, to be auctioned at Christie’s?

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Date of Event: Apr 18, 2025 Source : https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/golconda-blue-diamond-christies-auction-indian-royalty-13879886.html

What’s the ‘Golconda Blue’ diamond, once owned by Indian royalty, to be auctioned at Christie’s?​

FP Explainers • April 14, 2025, 19:59:41 IST
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Christie’s is selling ‘The Golconda Blue’ diamond at its auction for the first time. Once part of the Indian royal heritage, the 23.24-carat pear-shaped gem is the largest vivid blue diamond to ever go under the hammer. It is estimated to fetch up to Rs 430 crore​

The Golconda Blue diamond, a 23 carat blue diamond to be offered for auction, is seen at Christie's auction house in New York City, US, April 11, 2025. Reuters
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Christie’s is auctioning the largest vivid blue diamond to ever go under the hammer. Dubbed ‘The Golconda Blue’, it was once owned by Indian royalty.

The diamond traces its origin to the famed Golconda mines in present-day Telangana. The British auction house will present the striking blue gem at its Magnificent Jewels sale on May 14 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, Switzerland.

Let’s take a closer look.

History of ‘The Golconda Blue’​

The Golconda Blue was a part of India’s royal heritage. According to Christie’s, the 23.24-carat pear-shaped diamond was once owned by the Maharaja of Indore, Yeshwant Rao Holkar.

Holkar and his wife were known for their sophisticated tastes and elegant lifestyle in the 1920s and 1930s.

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In 1913, Tukoji Rao Holkar III, the father of Yeshwant Holkar and the then Indore ruler, obtained the popular Indore Pear diamonds from the French luxury jewellery and watch house, Chaumet. According to Chaumet’s records, he was shown “two magnificent and inseparable pear-shaped diamonds of 46.70 and 46. 95 carats”.

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