The sale
At Christie’s Geneva on 18 May 2016, the Oppenheimer Blue sold for CHF56,837,000, reported by Christie’s as US$57,541,779. The auction house described a 25-minute bidding contest.
The significance
The result became a defining moment in the auction history of blue diamonds. A historic sale is most useful when the original currency, date and reporting source remain visible together.
The lesson
A reported US-dollar equivalent is tied to the exchange rate used for the sale. It should not be silently converted into a present-day valuation. This archive records the transaction, rather than offering an investment forecast.
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