The legendary sapphire of the Russian imperial family was sold for a record price!

NEWS CENTER/ The historical sapphire bracelet, decorated with diamonds weighing approximately 198 carats and belonging to the Romanovs, the last imperial dynasty of Russia, took the breath away at the auction held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The unique piece, offered for sale by the famous auction house Sotheby's, found a buyer for a record price exceeding 4.1 million Swiss Francs (approximately 4.9 million dollars).

The rare cushion-cut stone, which was predicted to be sold for between 1 and 2 million dollars before the auction, went well beyond the estimates at the auction and attracted great attention from collectors.

It was announced that the new owner of the historical jewel is a private collector whose identity is kept secret.

HISTORICAL JOURNEY TO THE TSARAL PALACE

The story of the 197.80 carat Ceylon sapphire dates back centuries.

Presumed to have originated in the Mughal Empire in South Asia, the stone was included in the collection of Imperial Russian jewels in the 19th century.

Tsar II. Nicholas's mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, wore this dazzling sapphire at the 1903 Winter Palace Ball, which went down in history as the "last great grand banquet" of Imperial Russia.

The jewelery, which was recorded in the state inventory after the Russian Revolution, was distributed to the world market through sales in which the Soviet government disposed of imperial treasures.

This historical sapphire, considered one of the most important precious stones to have survived from the Russian palace, became one of the most talked about pieces of the year in the jewelry world, with both its deep-rooted history and astonishing sales figures.