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A very fancy , expensive baseball diamond is about to be openly trade for the first fourth dimension in its 300 - yr history .
According toMining.com , the 6.16 - karat , " dark gray-headed - blue " Farnese Bluediamond , which comes from India , was extracted early in thebloody , brutalBritishcolonizationof the subcontinent in the eighteenth century . It comes from the Golconda mine — which is the source of many famous Indian diamonds that ended up in the helping hand of rich Europeans , includingthe Hope Diamond . [ Sinister Sparkle : 13 Mysterious & Cursed Gemstones ]
The Farnese Blue passed first into the hands of the Italian - accept Elisabeth Farnese , queen of Spain as a gift on the occasion of her wedlock to Spain ’s King Philip V , consort to CNN .
It then passed between Spain , France , Italy and Austria for 300 years , always staying within the immense , interrelated internet of European royal families . Accordingto Sotheby ’s , which is cover the May 15 sale , it was " kept on the Q.T. in a purple jewel casket " for much of that time .
" except closemouthed relatives , and of course the family jewelers , no one jazz of its existence , " Sotheby ’s stated .
As is often the guinea pig , it is n’t immediately readable who exactly presently owns the diamond and will benefit from the Farnese grim sales agreement . ( Sotheby ’s did not directly return a request for scuttlebutt . ) The auction bridge house stated that the stone is appreciate between $ 3.69 million and $ 5.27 million , though it ’s not uncommon foractual prices to climb higher in auction .
If history is any guide , the person who does profit from the sale wo n’t be a descendent of diamond miners in India .
Originally published onLive Science .
