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Sotheby’s Tips Largest Blue Diamond at Auction to Fetch $48 Mn

Model Stephany Martins holds up the "The De Beers Cullinan Blue" blue diamond during a press preview at Sotheby's in New York, on February 15, 2022. (AFP)
Model Stephany Martins holds up the "The De Beers Cullinan Blue" blue diamond during a press preview at Sotheby's in New York, on February 15, 2022. (AFP)
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Sotheby’s Tips Largest Blue Diamond at Auction to Fetch $48 Mn

Model Stephany Martins holds up the "The De Beers Cullinan Blue" blue diamond during a press preview at Sotheby's in New York, on February 15, 2022. (AFP)
Model Stephany Martins holds up the "The De Beers Cullinan Blue" blue diamond during a press preview at Sotheby's in New York, on February 15, 2022. (AFP)

Sotheby's announced Wednesday that it would offer the largest-ever blue diamond to go up for auction at a sale in Hong Kong in April.

The auction house said it expected the 15.10-carat De Beers Cullinan Blue diamond to sell for more than $48 million.

The diamond is the "largest internally flawless step cut vivid blue diamond" ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Sotheby's said in a statement.

The sale will mark the first time a blue diamond of more than 15 carats has ever gone under the hammer, the press release added.

Sotheby's said the diamond, which previewed in New York this week, would be offered on a yet-to-be determined date during its Hong Kong Luxury Week in April.

It was cut from a rough stone discovered in discovered at the Cullinan mine in South Africa in April 2021.

The diamond is bigger than the Oppenheimer Blue, a 14.62 carat stone that set the world record price for a blue diamond at auction in May 2016 when it sold for $57.5 million.

Earlier this month, Sotheby's in London sold the Enigma -- the largest cut diamond ever to come to auction at 555.55 carats -- for £3.16 million ($4.3 million).

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Japan’s Chief Meteorologist Calls Rumors of a July Earthquake a Hoax, Urges People Not to Worry

People watch a 3D video advertisement display with a giant cat's graphics installed in the famed Shinjuku shopping district Friday, June 13, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People watch a 3D video advertisement display with a giant cat's graphics installed in the famed Shinjuku shopping district Friday, June 13, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
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Japan’s Chief Meteorologist Calls Rumors of a July Earthquake a Hoax, Urges People Not to Worry

People watch a 3D video advertisement display with a giant cat's graphics installed in the famed Shinjuku shopping district Friday, June 13, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People watch a 3D video advertisement display with a giant cat's graphics installed in the famed Shinjuku shopping district Friday, June 13, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)

The head of Japan's meteorological agency on Friday dismissed widespread rumors of a major earthquake in Japan this summer as unscientific and a “hoax," urging people not to worry because even the most advanced science still cannot predict any quake or tsunami.

“At the moment, it is still impossible to predict an earthquake with specific timing, location or its magnitude,” Japan Meteorological Agency Director General Ryoichi Nomura told reporters. “Any such prediction is a hoax, and there is absolutely no need to worry about such disinformation."

Nomura was referring to rumors in Hong Kong and other Asian cities of a major earthquake or a tsunami in July in Japan have led to flight cancellations and reductions in service, affecting tourism.

He said it was “unfortunate” that many people are affected by the disinformation, though he sympathized with the sense of unease that the people tend to develop toward something invisible.

The rumor originates from a 2022 Japanese comic book “The future I saw,” which features a dream foreseeing a tsunami and is also available in Chinese. The chatter began spreading earlier this year through social media, mainly in Hong Kong.

The author previously gained attention for allegedly predicting the 2011 quake and tsunami in northern Japan, which killed more than 18,000 people.

Japan, which sits on the Pacific “ring of fire,” is one of the world's most quake-prone countries.

Last summer, a panel of seismologists noted a slight increase in the probability of a megaquake on Japan’s Pacific coasts. The government organized an awareness-raising week but only triggered panic buying, beach closures and other overreactions and complaints.

While it is important to inform people about the science, Nomura said, it is also necessary for everyone in this quake-prone country to take early precautions.

“In Japan, an earthquake can occur anytime, anywhere,” Nomura said. “So I ask everyone to take this opportunity to ensure your preparedness for a major quake.”