Bunny Mellon knew a thing or two about breathtaking gardens—and, it seems, stunning gemstones.
The American horticulturalist’s former fancy vivid blue diamond, aptly named the Mellon Blue, is heading to auction via Christie’s Geneva’s Magnificent Jewels event. The 9.51-carat gem comes with a sky-high estimate to match its beauty: It’s expected to fetch a whopping $20 million to $30 million when it pops up on the block this November.
The Mellon Blue is graded internally flawless, making it even more rare thanks to its intense color and purity. Right now, the diamond is set on a ring, but back when it was Mellon’s hands, the stone was placed on a pendant. The rare gem hasn’t been since publicly since 2014, when it also went under the hammer in New York.
Being the owner of a gem of this caliber doesn’t seem all that surprising for someone like Mellon. Known for her elegant taste, Mellon (wife of banking heir Paul Mellon) was quite the garden savant—in fact, she was tapped to redesign the White House Rose Garden by JFK in 1961, among other ventures.
The Magnificent Jewels Live Auction will take place on November 11 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. If you want a sneak peek at what other dazzling gems are up for grabs, previews will run from November 7 at the resort.
The Christie’s event is coming at the perfect time, too. Fancy colored diamonds have been all the rage recently; prices of the gems have skyrocketed by 205 percent over the last 20 years, according to a recent report from Natural Diamond Council, in partnership with Choron Group and the Fancy Color Research Foundation. That’s because of the colorful stones’ extreme scarcity, as well as renewed interest from collectors and jewelers, as bursts of different hues have been seen in a variety of new jewelry collections.
Of course, that rarity translates right to the block, with plenty of consumers clamoring for the colorful diamonds. In particular, blue diamonds have had a moment as of late, with less than 0.1 percent of any gems showing evidence of a blue hue. And with the 10.03-carat Mediterranean Blue sold for a whopping $21.5 million back in May, Mellon’s former gem may reach its top estimate yet.
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