A sapphire from the collection of the Romanov imperial house was sold at Sotheby's Royal and Noble Jewels auction for $4.9 million. The final price was more than double the initial estimate.
Before the sale, the piece of jewellery was estimated at 850,000 to 1.7 million Swiss francs (around $1–2.1 million). Bidding opened at 600,000 francs, and the lot eventually sold for 4.1 million francs.
The cut sapphire, weighing 197.8 carats, is set in a wide geometric bracelet of diamonds and rock crystal. The piece was designed by Cartier in 2015 in an Art Deco style.
It is not known when the stone entered the imperial treasury. However, according to Sotheby's, the nature of its cut suggests that the sapphire dates from the era of the Great Mughals, which ended in the mid-19th century.
In the catalogue of Fersman's mineralogical collection, compiled after the revolution, the sapphire was listed together with another stone weighing 249.25 carats. Together they formed a pair of jewelled clasp-brooches. Empress Maria Feodorovna wore them on the front panel of her skirt at a costume ball in the Winter Palace in 1883.
In 1927, the sapphire was acquired by the Polish opera singer Ganna Walska for her necklace. The piece was subsequently reworked several times. In 1971, Walska's estate was put up for auction at Sotheby's, when the stone formed part of a shorter necklace. In 1992, the sapphire, as part of a necklace, was again offered at a Sotheby's sale in Geneva.
