Tiara fetches world record price

The diamond and emerald tiara, which German prince Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck commissioned for his second wife Katharina around 1900, was estimated to fetch $5 million-$10 million.

It was top lot at a sale that netted 78.9 million Swiss francs, third highest for a jewellery sale, with 90 per cent of 479 
lots on offer finding new owners, the auction house said. “It is needless to say a world record price at auction for a tiara,” said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and Middle East jewellery department, as he brought down the hammer to applause. The tiara also set a record at auction for a piece of emerald jewellery, the auction house said in a statement. The winning bid was taken over the telephone by Lisa Hubbard, chairwoman of Sotheby’s jewellery department in North America — a hint as to the location of the new owner.

The tiara was among jewels of royal provenance that accounted for 19.6 million Swiss francs of the sale’s proceeds, far exceeding expectations, according to Bennett.

“Obviously it was led by the tiara, which is probably one of the most spectacular noble jewels we have ever had. The last time it appeared on the market was with us in 1979,” he told reporters.

International jewellers Leviev outbid other buyers to purchase an intense pink diamond weighing nearly 11 carats for 9.6 million Swiss francs, the third highest price ever paid for a pink diamond on the block, according to the auction house.