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Historic ‘Romanov Sapphire’ Achieves $4.9M at Sotheby’s
The 197-carat Russian Crown jewel was the leading lot of Sotheby's white-glove Royal & Noble Jewels sale this week.
The "Romanov Sapphire," set in a bracelet by Cartier, nearly tripled its pre-sale estimate at Sotheby’s jewelry sale in Geneva on Wednesday.
Geneva—The “Romanov Sapphire,” a 197.80-carat gemstone with ties to Russia’s Romanov dynasty, fetched nearly $5 million at Sotheby’s recent jewelry sale in Geneva.
The sapphire, set in a diamond bracelet by Cartier in 2015, was estimated to achieve CHF 850,000 to CHF 1.7 million ($1 million to $2 million) and sold for CHF 4.12 million ($4.9 million).
It was once mounted by Fabergé and worn by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the mother of Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II, to a ball in 1903.
Following the sale of the Russian Crown Jewels by the Soviets in the 1920s, the sapphire was acquired by socialite and opera singer Ganna Walska in 1927.
The piece was the star lot of Sotheby’s white-glove Royal & Noble Jewels auction on Nov. 11.
In the No. 2 spot was a Cartier London Art Deco tiara-necklace-brooch combination set with black opals and diamonds, which achieved 1.7 million CHF ($2 million), exceeding its high-end estimate of CHF 1.1 million ($1.3 million).
It was created in the late 1930s for Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, who wore it in her role as Mistress of the Robes at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
The sapphire, set in a diamond bracelet by Cartier in 2015, was estimated to achieve CHF 850,000 to CHF 1.7 million ($1 million to $2 million) and sold for CHF 4.12 million ($4.9 million).
It was once mounted by Fabergé and worn by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the mother of Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II, to a ball in 1903.
Following the sale of the Russian Crown Jewels by the Soviets in the 1920s, the sapphire was acquired by socialite and opera singer Ganna Walska in 1927.
The piece was the star lot of Sotheby’s white-glove Royal & Noble Jewels auction on Nov. 11.
In the No. 2 spot was a Cartier London Art Deco tiara-necklace-brooch combination set with black opals and diamonds, which achieved 1.7 million CHF ($2 million), exceeding its high-end estimate of CHF 1.1 million ($1.3 million).
It was created in the late 1930s for Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, who wore it in her role as Mistress of the Robes at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
A Cartier London transformable diamond and black opal tiara, created in the 1930s, that sold for $2 million
A sapphire and diamond demi-parure, formerly in the collection of Swedish Princess Sibylla, which achieved $995,000
That was followed by a pearl and diamond necklace centering a collet-set octagonal step-cut sapphire weighing 43.07 carats. It was made by Bucherer with the clasp signed Adler.
It sold for CHF 1.6 million ($1.9 million), more than triple its high-end estimate.
The fourth-highest grossing piece was a Belle Epoque 23.64-carat padparadscha sapphire and diamond brooch from the collection of Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Västerbotten.
It sold for CHF 1.1 million ($1.3 million) against a pre-sale estimate of CHF 40,000 to CHF 60,000 ($48,000 to $72,000).
In the No. 5 spot was a sapphire and diamond demi-parure from the same collection, which sold for just under $1 million, exceeding its high-end estimate of CHF 500,000 ($610,000).
Sotheby's also held a High Jewelry sale Wednesday in Geneva, and loose colored stones took several of the top spots.
The star lot was an unmounted oval fancy intense pink diamond weighing 8.63 carats and categorized as Type IIa that sold within its estimate for CHF 4.5 million ($5.5 million).
The second-highest grossing lot was an unmounted cushion-shaped red spinel weighing 51.79 carats.
This 52-carat red spinel sold for $2 million
It achieved CHF 1.7 million ($2 million), more than triple its high-end estimate of CHF 500,000 ($600,000), and was purchased by Moussaieff Jewelers, according to Sotheby's.
In the third spot was an 8.11-carat cushion modified brilliant-cut fancy pink diamond, also unmounted. It also sold within estimate, fetching CHF 1.6 million ($1.9 million).
Following closely behind that was a Graff diamond ring centering a 2.88-carat fancy deep blue diamond.
It achieved CHF 1.5 million ($1.9 million), below its low-end pre-sale estimate of CHF 1.7 million ($2 million).
At No. 5 was an 18.03-carat step-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond, which sold within its estimate for CHF 1.4 million ($1.8 million).
“Today’s results reflected the remarkable breadth of the market at its best," said Sotheby’s Geneva Head of High Jewelry Jessica Wyndham.
"We started the sale with confidence in our exceptional coloured diamonds and gemstones ... At the same time, collectors responded with enthusiasm to jewels whose power lay firmly in their design, history, and individuality, from early twentieth-century Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels to JAR, Bhagat, and Marina B."
The High Jewelry sale closed on a total of CHF 32.6 million ($39.8 million), with 94 percent of lots sold and nearly half of all lots selling above their high estimates.
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