\\\'Blue Moon\\\' diamond unveiled

The ‘Blue Moon Diamond,’ has been unveiled. The a 12-carat gem was unveiled at Los Angeles County’s Natural History Museum on Friday afternoon. Described as one of the rarest stones in the world, Blue Moon Diamond was found in South Africa’s Cullinan mine northeast of Pretoria, where the biggest ever rough diamond was unearthed around 100 years ago. The US $16 gem is deep blue and intensely radiant. ‘Fancy vivid blue diamonds are extremely rare and the Blue Moon is no exception,’ said Suzette Gomes, chief executive of Cora International, a leading diamond supplier from whom the gem is on loan. ‘It is a historic stone that is one of the rarest gems with this colour and in this size to be found in recent history,’ she added. Only a few bigger blue diamonds exist, including the ‘Heart of Eternity,’ valued at US $ 16 million, and the 45-carat ‘Hope’ worth an estimated $350 million despite having a reputation as being cursed. The value of ‘Blue Moon,’ which took 6 months to be cut from a 30-carat rough diamond, is not yet known but Gomez noted that Cora bought the rough diamond for $26 million, according to a private TV channel.