A Swiss auction has set a new world record for jewellery sales, Christie's said on Wednesday, led by a Ceylon sapphire known as the "Blue Belle of Asia" which alone sold for an unprecedented 16.96 million Swiss francs ($17.6 million).
Published : 13 Nov 2014, 01:35 AM
Christie's said that 346 items had found new owners on Tuesday evening for a total sum of 147.2 million Swiss francs, exceeding the late actress Elizabeth Taylor's collection which netted $116 million three years ago.
Many of the jewels on the block in Geneva were from the large estate of a late Saudi collector, experts said.
The cushion-shaped sapphire, weighing 392.52 carats and suspended on a diamond tassel pendant, soared to double its pre-sale estimate at the auction, where private collectors and professional traders from the Middle East bid heavily.
"We are extremely proud that the Blue Belle of Asia established a new world record for any sapphire sold at auction," Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Christie's Jewellery Department, said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The private collector, seated in the room, is now the new owner of the most valuable sapphire in the world," he added, without identifying the buyer.