---
title: "'Mellon Blue' diamond ring sells for $25 million in Geneva auction"
description: "GENEVA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - A vivid blue diamond weighing 9.51 carats and previously belonging to Rachel \"Bunny\" Mellon, the aristocratic philanthropist and a close friend of Jacqueline Kennedy, sold in Geneva for $25 million, Christie's auction house said on Tuesday."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-11-11-mellon-blue-diamond-ring-sells-for-25-million-in-geneva-auction/"
published: "2025-11-11T21:08:02"
updated: "2025-11-11T21:08:04"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 144
---

# 'Mellon Blue' diamond ring sells for $25 million in Geneva auction

> GENEVA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - A vivid blue diamond weighing 9.51 carats and previously belonging to Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, the aristocratic philanthropist and a close friend of Jacqueline Kennedy, sold in Geneva for $25 million, Christie's auction house said on Tuesday.

By Reuters · Published 11 November 2025, 23:08 SAST · Updated 11 November 2025, 23:08 SAST

## Key points
- The "Mellon Blue," a pear-shaped diamond that sparkled its way to a staggering $32.6 million at auction, not only dazzled the eyes but also outshone its former owner, a horticulturalist who left a floral legacy at the White House, proving that even diamonds can have a green thumb.
- The "Mellon Blue," an internally flawless pear-shaped diamond, sold for $32.6 million in 2014, setting a record for coloured diamonds at auction.
- Former owner, philanthropist and horticulturist, passed away at 103, leaving behind a legacy of beauty and wealth.
- The current world record for blue diamonds is held by the "Oppenheimer Blue," which fetched over $57 million in 2016.
- Mellon is also remembered for redesigning the White House Rose Garden during the Kennedy era, a project revisited by Donald Trump in 2020.

## Content

By Cecile Mantovani

The internally flawless pear-shaped diamond mounted at the tip of a swirling ring design is named the "Mellon Blue," after its former owner who had it set as a pendant. It sold for $32.6 million in 2014, the year Mellon died at the age of 103.

That was the highest price at the time ever paid for a coloured diamond at auction, Christie's said. But the world record for a blue diamond is the "Oppenheimer Blue," which sold for over $57 million in Geneva in 2016.

Mellon, an avid, self-taught horticulturalist, came from a wealthy background and married into the Mellon banking family.

One of her legacies was a redesign of the White House Rose Garden during the Kennedy administration, which U.S. President Donald Trump again renovated this year.

(Reporting by Cecile Mantovani; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Richard Chang)