A Romanov sapphire weighing nearly 198 carats on a diamond-covered bracelet sold for more than 4.1 million Swiss francs ($4.9 million) at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva late Wednesday.
Sotheby's had expected the cushion-shaped stone to fetch between 850,000 and 1.7 million francs, or $1 million to $2 million. Bidders blew past that range. The auction house did not name the buyer, a private collector.
The 197.80-carat Ceylon sapphire likely came from the Mughal Empire in south Asia and made its way into Russia's imperial jewels in the 19th century. Sotheby's calls it one of the most important surviving gemstones from the Russian court.
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Czar Nicholas II's mother, wore the sapphire at the Winter Palace Ball of 1903. The auction house described that night as "widely regarded as the last great spectacle of Imperial Russia and immortalized in some of the most iconic images of the Romanov court." After the Russian Revolution, the sapphire appeared in inventory records before it entered the Soviet government's dispersal sales of imperial treasures.
The winning bidder gets a stone with a paper trail running from the Mughal Empire to the Romanov court to a Soviet sale.
Common questions
How much did the Romanov sapphire bracelet sell for?
- The Romanov sapphire bracelet sold for more than 4.1 million Swiss francs, about $4.9 million, at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva late Wednesday. Sotheby's had expected it to bring between 850,000 and 1.7 million francs, or $1 million to $2 million, so bidders pushed the price well past the estimate.
Who bought the Romanov sapphire?
- A private collector bought the sapphire, but Sotheby's did not name the buyer. The auction house sold the 197.80-carat Ceylon sapphire on a diamond-covered bracelet in Geneva late Wednesday. The sale price topped 4.1 million Swiss francs, or $4.9 million, far above what Sotheby's expected.
Where did the Romanov sapphire come from?
- The sapphire likely came from the Mughal Empire in south Asia and entered Russia's imperial jewels in the 19th century. Sotheby's calls the 197.80-carat Ceylon sapphire one of the most important surviving gemstones from the Russian court. Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Czar Nicholas II's mother, wore it at the Winter Palace Ball of 1903.
