14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, several precious stones were sold at a Sotheby's auction held in Geneva, Switzerland. The auction fetched an astounding $160,914,902 (€142,739,000) and set a new world record for the highest total ever obtained at a jewelry sale of this kind.
The stars of this auction were a flawless ruby and a pink diamond, shown in the photos accompanying this article. Interestingly, it was the ruby that sold for more money.
The stunning ruby sold for a record price
The gem, which goes by the name of the Sunrise Ruby, was sold to an anonymous buyer who paid as much as $30.3 million (€26.8 million) for it. This selling price makes the ruby the most expensive gem of its kind ever sold at an auction.
Funnily enough, it looks like not even auction house Sotheby's expected the ruby to fetch this much money. On the contrary, the gem was expected to sell for some $12 to $19 million (€10 to €17 million).
The ruby proved this popular because of its perfect shape and its so-called pigeon-blood color. The fact that it is a 25.59-carat precious stone also helped its cause.
“The large, pigeon-blood red ruby is amongst the rarest of all gemstones. I mean, in 40 years I've ever only seen one this color, this size, so they are beyond rare,” said David Bennett of Sotheby's, as cited by DM.
The diamond sold for an impressive price too
Although it didn't prove quite as appealing as the ruby, the 8.72-carat pink diamond that was also auctioned off in Geneva earlier this week sold for a nice price too. It fetched nearly $16 million (€14 million).
This is yet to be confirmed, but rumor has it that this gem once belonged to Princess Mathilde, niece of Napoleon Bonaparte. Its supposed historical value might have helped up the pink diamond's final selling price.
