A rare “pigeon blood” ruby has fetched a record $30.33 million (about Rs. 194 crore) at an auction by Sotheby’s in Geneva, while a rare pink diamond, which may have originated from the famous Golconda mines near Hyderabad, has been sold for $15.9 million (about Rs. 102 crore).
At an auction of contemporary art in New York by the auction house, major works by Mark Rothko and Roy Lichtenstein brought in over $88 million (about Rs. 562 crore).
The 25.59-carat ruby went to an anonymous telephone bidder at more than twice its estimated price at the spring Magnificent Jewels and Nobel Jewels auction, Sotheby’s said.
The precious stone from Myanmar set a record for a ruby and for a Cartier jewel at the auction. The “extremely rare”, fancy vivid-pink diamond weighed 8.72 carats. The stone, known as “The Historic Pink”, is believed to have been part of the collection of Princess Mathilde, niece of French Emperor Napoleon I. The stone only recently resurfaced, having been kept in a bank vault since the 1940s.
While its origins remain unclear, it may be from Golconda, says David Bennett, head of Sotheby’s international jewellery division.
Rothko’s Untitled (Yellow and Blue) fetched $46.4 million on Tuesday night. The eight-foot-tall abstract painting of large yellow and blue planes once hung at the National Gallery in Washington for 10 years. Lichtenstein’s The Ring (Engagement) garnered $41.7 million.
