A large collection of historic jewels linked to Europe’s royal families are preparing to go to auction in the coming weeks.
One item in the sale by Sotheby is the Swedish Sapphire Demi-Parure, a sapphire and diamond necklace with matching earrings that once belonged to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden’s mother, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She received them as a wedding present from Ferdinand, the former Tsar of Bulgaria, when she married Prince Gustaf Adolf in 1932.
The set is estimated to sell between $515,000 to $850,000 AUD.
After Princess Sibylla’s death in 1972, the sapphires were passed down to Princess Birgitta, King Carl XVI Gustaf’s older sister, who died in 2024 aged 87.
The sapphires were most recently seen at the royal weddings of King Carl’s daughters, Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
According to reports, King CarlXVI Gustaf was unaware that the jewels were going up for sale. The editor in chief of Swedish publication, Svensk Damtidning, Johan T. Lindwall said, “The king is so conservative that this goes against his values. Selling his mother’s jewellery at auction goes against everything the king stands for.”
Sweden’s monarch reportedly plans to buy back the jewels when they go up for auction on November 11.
The jewels have a long history, predating its place on Princess Birgitta’s neck. Before they were set into necklace and earrings, the loose stones belonged to Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the mother of Russia’s last Tsar Nicholas II. Maria survived the Russian Revolution which ended in 1922, and lived out her remaining years in Denmark.
A few other of Russia’s finest jewels will go under the hammer, including a rare unheated Ceylon sapphire, again worn by Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. The Romanov Sapphire is one of the most significant jewels from the dynasty, weighing 197.80 carats and expected to sell for $2.8 million AUD.
After the Russian Revolution, the sapphire was sold in the Soviet government’s dispersal sale. It was eventually acquired by Cartier.
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