A 118.35-carat royal blue sapphire, set into a necklace by Bulgari, will lead Phillips Hong Kong’s “Jewels and Jadeite” sale later this month (May 21-29) with a high estimate of $4.5 million, IDEX Online reports.
Phillips said that the Sri Lankan unheated, cushion-shaped sapphire scored an “impossible” 98 points in the Gubelin Gemstone Rating for quality, rarity, and salience. The stone was set in a necklace by Bulgari in 2004, “and appears at auction for the first time.”
The gem is among the largest sapphires offered at international auctions in the past three decades. Other huge and well-known sapphires include the 486.52-carat Giant of the Orient, the 422.99-carat Logan Blue Sapphire (which is on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History), and the 392.52-carat Blue Belle of Asia.
