A flawless blue diamond, said to be one of the rarest gemstones in the world, has sold at auction for nearly US$8 million, making it (carat for carat) the world’s most expensive gemstone.

The diamond sold for its collector owner by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, and was purchased by a London jeweller’s with a penchant for purchasing rare gems, Moussaieff’s.

At ‘only’ 6.04 carats, this is not an enormous diamond. However, the cut is very good and its colour - ‘fancy vivid blue’ - highly prized. These factors are what created sufficient demand to drive the price per carat to about ten times that commanded by white diamonds.

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