Worn on a skirt at the 1903 Winter Palace Ball and sold off by the Soviets in the 1920s, the Ceylon stone now sits in a bracelet Cartier made around it in 2015.
The Romanov Sapphire, a 197.80 ct cushion-shaped Ceylon stone formerly in the Russian Crown Jewels, is lot 1080 in Sotheby's Royal & Noble Jewels sale in Geneva on 11 November 2026. It is set in a Cartier bracelet of about 2015, and Sotheby's estimate is CHF 850,000 to 1,700,000.
The lot
Lot 1080 at Sotheby's, in the Royal & Noble Jewels sale in Geneva on 11 November 2026, is a Cartier bracelet of sapphire, rock crystal and diamonds, centred on the Romanov Sapphire. The lot page lists SSEF and Gübelin reports describing the stone as Ceylon with no heat, at a declared weight of 197.80 ct. Only the sapphire has the imperial history: Sotheby's catalogues the stone as 19th century and the bracelet as about 2015. Its note says the date the sapphire entered the Crown Jewels is not recorded, and that its unusual faceting points to a Mughal-era origin. The seller has not been disclosed, the Daily Beast reported.
From the Winter Palace to the Soviet sales
According to Sotheby's, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna wore the stone at the 1903 Winter Palace Ball, in a Fabergé diamond setting and paired with a second sapphire, on the front of her skirt. After the Revolution, the Soviet government had the Crown Jewels catalogued in four volumes between 1924 and 1926, known as the Fersman catalogue, and split them into three groups: pieces kept by the state, pieces sold abroad for their historical interest, and gems valued mainly as stones. Sotheby's places this sapphire in the third group, sold anonymously. The Daily Beast describes it as one of the few documented Crown Jewel gems that can still be identified today.
Ganna Walska and a string of settings
The opera singer Ganna Walska bought the stone from Cartier in 1927 as the pendant of a long sautoir, and had it remounted more than once, including alongside a large carved emerald in 1929, Sotheby's says. It was sold in her estate sale at Sotheby's Parke Bernet in New York on 1 April 1971, and again at Sotheby's Geneva on 18 November 1992. In 2015 Cartier built the present bracelet around it, with an interchangeable engraved rock crystal centre. A French edition of the Fersman catalogue comes with the lot.
Why provenance counts
A sapphire can be weighed and tested in a laboratory, but its story has to be documented. With a stone like this, the paper trail runs through a state inventory, named owners and earlier auction catalogues. The same applies at every level: old receipts, boxes, family records and photographs can all add to what a piece is known to be. Our guides to sapphire jewellery and Fabergé jewellery cover what buyers look for. If you have a piece with a history, send us a few photos and we will tell you what it is worth, free and with no obligation.
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- View the sale at Sotheby's: Royal & Noble Jewels, Geneva, 11 November 2026
- Lot 1080: The Romanov Sapphire, Cartier sapphire, rock crystal and diamond bracelet, at Sotheby's
- The Daily Beast: Rare jewel from Russia's last dynasty set to fetch a fortune (29 Oct 2026)
Facts as published by Sotheby's on its lot page and by the Daily Beast. An estimate is not a result. Mozeris Fine Antiques is not connected with Sotheby's, Cartier or anyone named. No photograph is used because no licensed image was available.
