A Romanov sapphire bracelet sells for $4.9 million at a Geneva auction
A Romanov sapphire bracelet, weighing nearly 198 carats, sold for $4.9 million at a Geneva auction, significantly exceeding the expected price range of $1 million to $2 million. The cushion-shaped sapphire, attributed to the imperial family of Russia, was expected to fetch between 850,000 and 1.7 million francs at the auction. The buyer, a private collector, was not identified.
The 197.80-carat Ceylon sapphire likely originated from the Mughal Empire in South Asia and was part of Russia's imperial jewels during the 19th century. Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Czar Nicholas II's mother, wore the sapphire at the Winter Palace Ball of 1903, an event widely regarded as the last great spectacle of Imperial Russia.
After the Russian Revolution, the sapphire was recorded in inventory before entering the Soviet government's dispersal sales of imperial treasures.
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