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 auction, vastly higher than the expected price range, Sotheby’s said.
The cushion-shaped sapphire attributed to onetime ownership of Russia’s imperial family was billed as a very rare stone, and had been expected to fetch between 850,000 and 1.7 million francs ($1 million and $2 million) at the Geneva auction late Wednesday.
The buyer, a private collector, wasn’t identified.
FOR SUBSCRIBERSNvidia is at the center of the AI economy. What happens now?
FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe House districts that remain uncalled after the 2026 midterms
FOR SUBSCRIBERSWave of Iran-linked plots raise security questions about American bases in Britain
FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe price of baby formula just set a dubious record
FOR SUBSCRIBERSJensen Huang agrees to brief Congress on interactions with alleged spy, lawmakers say
FOR SUBSCRIBERSRepublicans tiptoe around Trump as they process defeat in the 2026 elections
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow suspected spy Alice Huang got involved with Nvidia’s CEO
FOR SUBSCRIBERSOSU abuse survivors blast Jim Jordan’s election as House minority leader
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow measles surged in the U.S.
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow a concerned mother says she helped rescue a missing Utah teen held captive in Oregon
FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino groups’ first demand of the new Congress: Subpoena Stephen Miller
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow American Legion halls are adapting to survive a shrinking veteran population
FOR SUBSCRIBERSCubans say their houses are collapsing on top of them but they have nowhere to go
FOR SUBSCRIBERSDeadly floods sweep Gaza’s tents, intensifying pressure on Israel
FOR SUBSCRIBERSDemocrats skeptical Trump wants to work with them after elevating Stephen Miller
Slide 1 of 1
The 197.80-carat Ceylon sapphire likely came from the Mughal Empire in south Asia, made its way into Russia’s imperial jewels in the 19th century and is one of the most important surviving gemstones from the Russian court.
FOR SUBSCRIBERSNvidia is at the center of the AI economy. What happens now?
FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe House districts that remain uncalled after the 2026 midterms
FOR SUBSCRIBERSWave of Iran-linked plots raise security questions about American bases in Britain
FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe price of baby formula just set a dubious record
FOR SUBSCRIBERSJensen Huang agrees to brief Congress on interactions with alleged spy, lawmakers say
FOR SUBSCRIBERSRepublicans tiptoe around Trump as they process defeat in the 2026 elections
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow suspected spy Alice Huang got involved with Nvidia’s CEO
FOR SUBSCRIBERSOSU abuse survivors blast Jim Jordan’s election as House minority leader
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow measles surged in the U.S.
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow a concerned mother says she helped rescue a missing Utah teen held captive in Oregon
FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino groups’ first demand of the new Congress: Subpoena Stephen Miller
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow American Legion halls are adapting to survive a shrinking veteran population
FOR SUBSCRIBERSCubans say their houses are collapsing on top of them but they have nowhere to go
FOR SUBSCRIBERSDeadly floods sweep Gaza’s tents, intensifying pressure on Israel
FOR SUBSCRIBERSDemocrats skeptical Trump wants to work with them after elevating Stephen Miller
Slide 1 of 1
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Czar Nicholas II’s mother, wore the sapphire at the Winter Palace Ball of 1903 — “widely regarded as the last great spectacle of Imperial Russia and immortalized in some of the most iconic images of the Romanov court,” the auction house said.
After the Russian Revolution, the sapphire was recorded in inventory before entering the Soviet government’s dispersal sales of imperial treasures, Sotheby’s said.
This post appeared first on https://www.nbcnews.com