2025’s Most Remarkable Gem Sales: A Year Written in Ston

At Hope Diamonds & Gemstones, we believe the most extraordinary stones don’t just sparkle — they speak. They carry centuries in their structure and stories in their hue. This year, the world’s most exceptional gems have done just that — setting records, turning heads, and reaffirming the power of rarity.

Here are the sales that have captured our attention, and quite frankly, our hearts.

A Blue Diamond of Uncommon Depth

In May, a 23.24-carat Golconda blue diamond made history at Christie’s Geneva, commanding over $2 million per carat. Mounted in a quietly masterful ring by JAR, this stone is more than its clarity and cut — it’s a glimpse into a bygone world. Golconda diamonds are already rare; blue ones, almost mythic. That it found a new home with Moussaieff Jewellers speaks to its place among the finest ever seen.

This wasn’t just a sale. It was a moment.

The Mediterranean Blue: Poised, Powerful, and Unmistakable

Blue diamonds have long been symbols of clarity and control, and the 10.03-carat Mediterranean Blue, unveiled at Sotheby’s Geneva, carries that mantle with quiet strength. Anticipated to fetch upwards of $20 million, its vivid saturation and sculptural symmetry make it the kind of diamond collectors dream about — and rarely find.

There’s a stillness to a gem like this. The kind that holds your gaze, and your imagination.

A Record for Alexandrite — and a Win for Colour

In December, a 16.53-carat Brazilian alexandrite sold for $1.9 million at Sotheby’s New York, setting a new world record for this remarkable chameleon of the gem world. Green by daylight, red by lamplight — alexandrite speaks to those who love complexity. This sale shows what we’ve long known: rarity isn’t just about scarcity. It’s about character.

And alexandrite has that in abundance.

 Lucara’s Legendary Year at Karowe

At Botswana’s Karowe Mine, Lucara Diamond Corp delivered a series of finds that quietly redefined what’s possible in modern diamond recovery. Among them, the Sethunya and Eva Star — large, luminous, and impeccably formed. Together, Lucara’s 2025 sales topped $54 million, a figure that reflects not just carat weight, but extraordinary clarity and provenance.

This is the frontier of diamond discovery — and it’s happening right now.

The Market Is in Full Colour

Across auction houses, one thing is clear: collectors are chasing character, not just carats. From vivid blues to fiery garnets, coloured gemstones continue their quiet ascent. They’re not trends — they’re timeless. And 2025 has only deepened our belief that the world’s most captivating stones are those that bring colour and story to the surface.

At Hope, we know these are more than record-breaking sales — they’re reminders. Of how much beauty the earth holds. Of how a single stone can echo across centuries. And of why we do what we do: to bring rare, radiant things into the lives of those who love them.