Christie’s is proud to present The Golconda Blue—the largest Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond ever to be offered at auction. Weighing an extraordinary 23.24 carats, this superb historic gemstone will headline Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale, taking place live on 14 May 2025 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, with an estimate of $35 – 50 million. The Golconda Blue, perfectly mounted in a ring by JAR, is a true masterpiece with its recently uncovered royal provenance, mesmerizing colour, and sensational size.  It ranks among the rarest and most important diamonds ever discovered throughout history. 

This exceptional pear-shaped Golconda diamond boasts a remarkable provenance rooted in Indian Royalty. Yeshwant Rao Holkar, the Maharaja of Indore and a member of the Holkar dynasty, was known—alongside his wife—for a lifestyle defined by elegance and cosmopolitan sophistication in the 1920s and ’30s. A Knight of the Order of the Indian Empire, the Maharaja spent much of his time abroad, cultivating a strong affinity for Western art, design, and jewellery.

In 1913, his father acquired the famed Indore Pear diamonds from Chaumet, marking the beginning of a long-standing relationship with the historic Parisian Maison. In 1923, during another visit to Chaumet, he commissioned a diamond bracelet set with his own 23-carat pear-shaped Golconda blue diamond.

Drawn to the firm’s avant-garde flare, Yeshwant Rao Holkar appointed Mauboussin as his official jeweler in 1933.  Thereafter, Mauboussin reimagined much of the Maharaja’s collection and created the exceptional necklace including the Golconda Blue and the Indore Pears, worn by the Maharani of Indore memorialized in a portrait by Bernard Boutet de Monvel (illustrated on top of release).

Yeshwant Rao Holkar also collaborated with other iconic jewelers, including Harry Winston. In 1946, Mr. Winston purchased the Indore Pears from the Maharaja, and the following year, in January 1947, he acquired this 23-carat blue diamond. Winston later set it in a brooch alongside a matching 23-carat white diamond, which he sold to the Maharaja of Baroda. The brooch was subsequently reacquired by Mr. Winston and resold as a newly designed jewel to its current owner.

Now, over a century later, this legendary blue diamond comes to auction for the very first time, set as a striking contemporary ring by the celebrated Parisian designer JAR.

The legacy of Golconda diamonds begins with a reference found in a 4th-century Sanskrit manuscript. In 327 BC, Alexander the Great brought diamonds from India to Europe, sparking the West’s enduring fascination with these rare gems. By 1292 AD, Marco Polo famously chronicled the captivating beauty of Indian diamonds in his travel writings. Today, The Golconda Blue stands not only as a natural marvel but also as a storied jewel—its provenance bridging continents, dynasties, and centuries.