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A rare blue diamond sold at Christie's auction house for $44 million

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Leila Fadel. Diamonds are expensive, but a rare blue diamond at Christie's auction house was on another level. It just sold for close to $44 million. The 17.6-carat stone is described as the largest internally flawless, fancy, vivid, blue gem to go up for auction. Meanwhile, a Rolex worn by actor Marlon Brando in the movie "Apocalypse Now" sold for close to $5 million, a bargain compared to Big Blue. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.