A 10-carat blue diamond shines at a $100 million exhibition in Abu Dhabi

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Auction house Sotheby’s unveiled a set of rare diamonds valued at $100 million in an exhibition center in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Among the jewels on display is the 10.03 carat Mediterranean Blue, considered one of the most important blue diamonds ever discovered. (AP Video shot by Bassam Hatoum)

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Sotheby’s Deputy Chairman, Middle East & Head of Sotheby’s UAE, Katia Noun Boueiz wears the Mediterranean Blue diamond during its worldwide debut in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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An employee of Sotheby’s Dubai, right, adjusts the Mediterranean Blue diamond on the finger of Sotheby’s Deputy Chairman, Middle East & Head of Sotheby’s UAE, Katia Noun Boueiz during its worldwide debut in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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A 303.10 carat pear-shaped Fancy Deep Brownish Yellow Diamond is on display during an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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An employee of Sotheby’s Dubai holds The Mediterranean Blue diamond during its worldwide debut in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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The Mediterranean Blue diamond is on display during its worldwide debut in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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The 5.05-carat square emarald-cut Fancy Brown-Red diamond is on display during an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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A visitor takes a photograph of 303.10 carat pear-shaped Fancy Deep Brownish Yellow Diamond during an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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Sotheby’s Deputy Chairman, Middle East & Head of Sotheby’s UAE, Katia Noun Boueiz holds a Emerald-cut diamond during an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

By Associated Press

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A rare blue diamond was displayed Tuesday at an exhibition of $100 million worth of the world’s rarest diamonds in the United Arab Emirates’ capital, Abu Dhabi.

The eight diamonds on display at the Sotheby’s exhibition have a total weight of over 700 carats. They include red, yellow, pink and colorless diamonds.

Visitors focused on the 10-karat blue diamond from South Africa, considered one of the most important blue diamonds ever discovered. Sotheby’s expects it to be auctioned off at $20 million in May.

Quig Bruning, the company’s head of jewels in North America, Europe and the Middle East, said they chose Abu Dhabi for the current exhibition because of the Gulf nation’s high interest in diamonds.

“We have great optimism about the region,” he said. “We feel very strongly that this is the kind of place where you have both traders and collectors of diamonds of this importance and of this rarity.”