GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — Sotheby’s sale of Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels at Mandarin Oriental on May 16 was led by the “Apollo” and “Artemis” diamonds.” The captivating diamonds – one fancy vivid blue, one fancy intense pink — sold to the same anonymous buyer for a combined total of $57,425,478, setting a new world record for earrings at auction.

Graded fancy vivid blue by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and weighing a 14.54 carats, the “Apollo Blue” is the largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever to be offered at auction. It was cut and polished into a beautiful unmodified pear-shape, which flatters its exquisite outstanding color. The GIA also determined that the “Apollo Blue” was a Type IIb diamond – a group that contains less than one-half of one percent of all diamonds.

In recent times, the only mine to produce blue diamonds with any regularity is the Cullinan mine in South Africa. When in full production, less than 0.1 percent of diamonds sourced showed any evidence of blue color, according to the GIA. An infinitesimally small percentage of those is graded fancy vivid blue.

The “Artemis Pink” stands as a rare treasure in its own right, displaying an elegant and delicate fancy intense pink hue. Weighing 16 carats, the stone was cut into a pear shape, matching the “Apollo Blue,” which showcases the stone’s color and clarity. The GIA declared the “Artemis Pink” to be a Type IIa diamond, describing this category as “the most chemically pure type” of diamonds, which “often have exceptional optical transparency.”

The occurrence of pink diamonds remains exceedingly rare: according to the GIA, of all diamonds submitted to their specialists each year, “no more than 3 percent are classified as colored diamonds; less than 5 percent of those colored diamonds are predominantly pink.

The overall sale totaled $151,546,458 with strong sell-through rate of 90 percent.

Another auction record was set for a fancy intense purplish pink diamond as a 7.04-carat diamond by Piaget achieved $13,245,750 or $1,881,499 per carat.

Prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For information, +41 22 908 48 14 or www.sothebys.com