Petra Diamonds discovers rare blue diamond

Petra Diamonds announced Wednesday it has recovered a 25.5 carat blue diamond at the Cullinan mine in South Africa.

The rare stone is considered to be a high quality gem diamond of top colour.

Blue diamonds are among the most highly coveted of diamonds and the Cullinan mine is a major source of the gem.

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Since Petra acquired the mine, it has produced a number of blue diamonds, including a 26.6 carat rough stone which yielded a flawless 7.0 carat polished stone.

The fancy vivid blue diamond sold for $9.49m at a Sotheby's auction in May 2009. At the time it was the highest price per carat for any gemstone sold at auction. It was named the 'Star of Josephine' by its new owner.

RD