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The 23.24-carat Golconda Blue diamond, once owned by Indore’s Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar, is set for auction at Christie’s with an expected price of $35–$50 million.
Rare blue diamond once owned by the Maharaja of Indore to be auctioned in May (Video screengrab/Reuters)
A rare Golconda vivid blue diamond is set to be auctioned at Christie’s on May 14. The gem was once owned by the Maharaja of Indore, Yeshwant Rao Holkar.
Various reports suggest the diamond, named ‘Golconda Blue’, weighs in at over 23-carats and its sale is expected to set a record at $35 to $50 million.
According to Forbes, if the 23.24-carat diamond went to auction, it would be the largest fancy blue diamond to have been presented at a public sale.
In a report, First Post quoted Christie’s and stated Yeshwant Rao Holkar’s father, Tukoji Rao Holkar III – the then ruler of Indore, obtained the popular Indore Pear diamonds from the French luxury jewellery and watch house, Chaumet, in 1913.
Ten years later, Tukoji commissioned Chaumet to set his pear-shaped Golconda blue diamond into a bracelet, it stated.
The Golconda Blue, the largest fancy vivid blue diamond ever to come to auction, is set to headline the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale next month. The auction house estimates it will sell for $35 million to $50 million pic.twitter.com/moUixgAHb5— Reuters (@Reuters) April 14, 2025
In 1933, Holkar appointed the Parisian jewellery house Mauboussin as his official jeweller. The French company redesigned the Indore king’s royal collection and created a long flowing necklace for both the Golconda Blue and the Indore Pears, the report claimed.
New York jeweller Harry Winston purchased the Indore Pears in 1946, after which he cut the diamonds to 44.14 and 46.39 carats and kept them in his personal collection.
He acquired the diamond in January 1947 and then set it in a brooch alongside a similar white diamond weighing 23 carats. The famed jeweller later sold the brooch to the Maharaja of Baroda, the report quoted Phillips Auction House.
Winston then reacquired the brooch and resold it as a newly designed jewel, ending the blue diamond’s journey with the Indian royalty, according to the report.
The Forbes said Christie’s provided a brief statement saying the unidentified owners of the rare gem decided to sell it within the family. The statement reads:
“The Golconda Blue’s historic provenance, uncovered by Christie’s research, has generated considerable market interest and much excitement globally. At this time, the owners have made the decision to pursue a sale of the diamond to a family member.”
A spokesperson for the auction house further reinforced that it was a personal decision by the diamond’s owner to sell it within the family.
“We can confirm that neither tariffs nor any financial market movement was responsible for the change,” the spokesperson told Forbes.
