Romanov Sapphire Bracelet Sells for $4.9 Million

A 197.80-carat Ceylon sapphire set in a diamond bracelet sold for 4.1 million Swiss francs, about $4.9 million, at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva—well above its estimate of 850,000 to 1.7 million francs. Believed to have originated in the Mughal Empire before entering Russia’s imperial collection in the 19th century, the jewel was worn by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna at the Romanov court’s 1903 Winter Palace Ball. After the Russian Revolution, it was inventoried by the Soviet government and later entered dispersal sales of imperial treasures.