The pear-shaped, 14 carat, Blue Empress diamond emanates from the De Beers Premier Diamond Mine in South Africa and was purchased from De Beers by the Steinmetz Group of Geneva, a leading diamond specialist. The color and clarity of the diamond are not known, however it is believed that the ‘Empress’ in its name refers to the exceptional quality of the diamond. It is a relatively recent find and was offered for sale by Harrods in 2003 for GBP10 million.

The diamond was cut by the Steinmetz Group and set in a necklace made of 18k white gold. It is surrounded by several smaller round colorless diamonds. A spokesman of the Steinmetz Company had claimed that the diamond had at the time of offering attracted an offer of USD9 million. There were also numerous press reports in 2003 linking soccer superstar David Beckham as a potential buyer of the necklace for his former spice girl wife Victoria, for USD 17 million. It is not known whether the diamond was sold or its current whereabouts.

The Blue Empress Diamond