Empress’ 198-Carat Sapphire Sells for Jaw-Dropping Price

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A rare 197.80-carat sapphire fetched a hefty $4.9 million at auction on Wednesday—more than double its expected value of between $1 million and $2 million. According to Sothebys…

A rare 197.80-carat sapphire fetched a hefty $4.9 million at auction on Wednesday—more than double its expected value of between $1 million and $2 million. According to Sotheby’s, the giant Ceylon sapphire likely came from the Mughal Empire in South Asia, before entering the Russian Czars’ collection sometime in the 18th Century. The gem was famously worn by Czar Nicholas II’s mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, at the Winter Palace Ball of 1903. Shortly after the Russian Revolution, the Soviets sold the jewel. In 1927, Polish opera singer Ganna Walska acquired it and repeatedly had it remounted into new jewelry designs.

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