Many people dream of one day being able to see the royal jewels at the Tower of London. Individuals that attended a recent Sotheby’s auction did not have to wait in line to see a magnificent collection of royal jewelry and many of the visitors in attendance walked away from the auction owning their own piece of royal jewelry. The event hosted by Sotheby’s is called the Magnificent Jewels, Noble Jewels and Jewels from the Collection of Lily Marinho. All of the individual pieces in the auction brought a total of 57.1 million dollars, which was the highest priced jewelry auction in Geneva over the last week and the second highest priced auction for jewelry of all time.There were many magnificent pieces of jewelry that were owned by various royal families and celebrities. One of the main features of the auction was a diamond and enamel cocktail watch that was created by one of the world’s most renowned jewelers and was owned by Henriette de L’Esprine, S.A.A. la Princesses Louis de Croy. Two other pieces that were owned by the same individual sold in the auction were a diamond devant corsage and a diamond and pink topaz bracelet. There are also many other pieces of jewelry in the auction that were once owned by royalty.

Another item that was placed on the auction block is a diamond and pearl tiara that came from an anonymous collection from an aristocratic family. There is also another tiara that is only decorated with diamonds and has been dated from circa 1900. It is believed that the tiara was created Count Scheel-Plessen for his marriage to his future wife Louise. It is also believed that the diamond tiara could have been created when the Count’s title was officially recognized by Prussia.

While these pieces of jewelry were wonderful, the most spectacular piece in the entire auction was a sapphire pendant that was surrounded by diamonds. The exquisite pendant was previously owned by the Duchess of Windsor, the woman for which the King of England abdicated his throne. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor had a great passion for jewelry and together had many different and unique pieces created by some of the most famous jewelers of the time. The 206.82 carat sapphire pendant was expected to sell for anywhere between 1.1 million to 1.5 million dollars; however, the current owner of the pendant had it withdrawn from the auction because they could not bear to part with it. The current listing of royal jewelry that was sold at the auction is not the first time that Sotheby’s has had the privilege of selling jewelry and gemstones once owned by royalty.

Sotheby’s set a record in 1987 with the auction of the jewelry collection that once belonged to the Duchess of Windsor. The total that was raised from the auction was $50.3 million dollars and still remains the record for the largest amount of money raised from the sale of a single owner collection; however, a single buyer did not purchase the entire collection. Sotheby’s divided the massive jewelry collection into three hundred and five different lots, with many of the pieces being designed by some of the world’s most famous jewelers of the period. There were also several pieces in the collection that had personalized engravings from the Duke to the Duchess. Some of the buyers of the famous jewelry pieces included Elizabeth Taylor, museums and world famous jewelers. All of the proceeds that were made from the auction of the jewelry were donated to the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

Sotheby’s has had the pleasure of selling many jewelry pieces from other royal families as well. In 1992, Sotheby’s sold jewelry from the house of Thurn und Taxis. The total amount of money earned from the sale of the jewelry pieces was $23.2 million dollars. Just five years later, Sotheby’s sold several individual pieces of jewelry that at one time had belonged to Queen Marie Amelie of France, who was the wife of King Louis-Philippe.

The tradition of selling royal jewelry has continued and in 2005, Sotheby’s sold a necklace that once belonged to Empress Catherine the Great. The Russian Imperial diamond necklace brought a staggering price of $1.5 million dollars. In April of 2006, Christie’s auction house sold a brooch that once belonged to the wife of Napoleon III, Empress Eugenie. The brooch was estimated to be worth six million dollars.

In many instances, jewelry that was once owned by royalty or celebrities will fetch a price that is often ten to fifteen times the normal value. In some instances, jewelry that was owned by minor royalty will only bring a slightly higher price than the estimated value, while jewelry that was owned by popular royalty can bring as much as twenty times its normal value.