The News
A five-year royal Qatari battle for the world’s largest cut blue diamond — the 70-carat Idol’s Eye — has ended.
The saga of the storied $10 million gemstones is complex. The diamond is owned by Elanus, a holding company representing the heirs of a prolific Qatari royal art collector who died in 2014. That year, Elanus loaned the gem to Sheikh Hamad Abdullah Al-Thani’s QIPCO under a deal granting the company first refusal if the stone was ever put up for sale.
In 2020, a family member linked to Elanus proposed a sale. Sheikh Hamad moved quickly, and when other Elanus beneficiaries demurred, he launched a legal case to enforce the sale. A High Court judge in London has now ruled that Elanus can’t be forced to sell, quashing Sheikh Hamad’s hopes of acquiring the diamond.