A natural pearl hammered world record!
A record for any sale of royal jewels at Sotheby’s, Eclipsing the long-held benchmark of $50.3m established Geneva, one of the most important historic collections of royal jewels made auction history. One hundred treasures from the collection of the Bourbon Parma family together realised CHF 53.5m ($53.1m), more than seven times the pre-sale high estimate of CHF 7m ($7m) and a record for any sale of royal jewels, eclipsing the long-held benchmark of $50.3m established by the sale of jewels of the Duchess of Windsor established in 1987. Every jewel offered tonight found a buyer, with many selling for high multiples of pre-sale expectations. Following exhibitions of the jewels around the world, international collectors and history-lovers demonstrated the full force of their fascination with the historic treasures. Participants from 43 countries took part in the sale, and bidding this evening was resolutely modern, with 55% of registrants participating online. A testa