Kashmir sapphire to be sold in auction

and a royal tiara which everyone can try on via Instagram are the stars of this year’s May magnificent jewels sales in Geneva. Gems worn by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s adopted daughter also dazzle among the historic treasures being sold by Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses on May 11 and 12. The Kashmir sapphire, a 55.19 carat gem, was formerly in the collection of Maureen Constance Guinness, a marchioness of the aristocratic Anglo-Irish brewing family, who died in 1998.

Kashmir sapphires of over 30 carats are very rare. It is being sold alongside a cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire weighing 25.97 carats and the pair are estimated to fetch $2-3 million. Following their discovery in the early 1880s, the mining of Kashmir sapphires only lasted from 1882 and 1887, making them some of the most coveted on the market.