Christie's INTERNATIONAL

An exceptionally rare blue diamond went under the hammer in Geneva on Nov. 7, selling for more than $40 million, making it one of the most expensive diamonds ever sold at auction, Christie's said.

Weighing 17.61 carats, the Bleu Royal is the largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue gem ever to appear for sale in auction history.

Raymond Hekking spent decades trying to convince the world that the Mona Lisa painting he bought from a French antique shop in 1953 was the real thing and the one in the Louvre Museum was a fake.

Now Christie's auction house has put the "Hekking Mona Lisa" up for sale, hoping the story of his campaign to realize his dream will help compensate for the fact it is a copy.