Summary A sapphire ring from Kashmir has fetched $7.3 million, according to the auction house Christie's.
GENEVA (AP) - A prize 35-carat sapphire from Kashmir has fetched $7.3 million, according to the auction house Christie s.
The sale, to a private anonymous Asian buyer, set a world record for a Kashmir sapphire at $209,689 per carat, Christie s said in a statement.
Kashmir sapphires are sought after for their rich cornflower blue or velvety blue color. Sapphire-bearing rock deep in the northwestern Himalayas was exposed in a rock slide in 1881, prompting a rush of mining activity. The mines were exhausted by the 1930s.
The cushion-shaped sapphire ring that sold Wednesday is set with triangular-cut diamond shoulders and baguette-cut diamonds elsewhere, mounted in gold. The sapphire is of the notable velvety hue often compared to the color of a peacock s neck feathers.
Among other top pieces sold was a rectangular-cut pink diamond ring of 5.18 carats surrounded by an oval of white diamonds. It sold for $10.7 million. The buyer was anonymous.
There was no buyer for a large brooch dubbed the "Maria Christina Royal devant-de-corsage." It was presented by King Alfonso XII of Spain to his wife, the Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, on their wedding day in November 1879.
In all, the Christie s "Magnificent Jewels" sale totaled $97.5 million.
