The largest, most valuable and recently discovered blue diamond is up for auction.

DeBeers' 15-carat Cullinan blue diamond was mined in 2021 at the Cullinan mine in South Africa, one of the world's few sources of extremely rare blue diamonds.

It will be auctioned at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in April at a starting price of more than $ 48 million.

Sotheby's Senior Vice President Frank Everett, who is also the sales director for jewelry, said the stone is remarkable in many ways.

"It is rare for it to be over 15 carats.

Its color is bright blue.

And he is internally flawless.

And one of its most distinctive and rare qualities is polishing, "he said.

photo: Getty Images / Guliver

"I think we will see a huge interest in this stone when it is put up for auction.

The jewelry market is currently very strong, as in the last few years, and one of the strongest segments is colored diamonds.

And one of the strongest colors is blue, "he said. 

photo: Getty Images / Guliver

The stone received the highest possible rating for a colored diamond from the Institute of Gemology of America, as it has been given so far to less than 1 percent of blue diamonds, adds BTA.

Diamond