The key point: Next Wednesday in Geneva, Sotheby’s will auction royal jewels, including a 197.80-carat Romanov sapphire.
The Romanov sapphire
- A cushion-cut Ceylon sapphire that entered the collection of the Romanovs in the mid-19th century.
- After the Bolshevik revolution, the stone was put up for sale; how it reached Cartier remains unexplained.
- Acquired in 1927 by the singer Ganna Walska, it returned to auction in 1971, then in Geneva in 1992.
- In 2015, Cartier gave it its current setting: a diamond-set bracelet.
Other royal pieces
- A Mellerio tiara in diamonds, shown in London in 1862 and then passed down within the Orléans family.
- A convertible Cartier jewel in black opals, worn by the Duchess of Devonshire at the coronation of Elizabeth II.
Key figures
- 197.80 carats : weight of the sapphire
- CHF 0.85 to 1.7 million : estimate for the sapphire
- CHF 300,000 to 500,000 : estimate for the Mellerio tiara
- CHF 0.78 to 1.1 million : estimate for the Cartier jewel
In short
Sotheby’s is holding a sale of jewels of royal provenance in Geneva. The Romanov sapphire is its main piece. A Mellerio tiara and a Cartier jewel complete the offering.
