Christies Ruby Diaries- 15 Most Expensive and Legendary Ruby Jewelry Lots.

Over the decades, Christie's has handled extraordinary ruby jewels belonging to actresses, duchesses, princesses, maharajas, and some of the greatest jewelry collectors of the 20th century. Some were sold for millions, some for thousands, but what makes a ruby beautiful is not the price, but its journey. So let's go back through the Christie's ruby diaries, chronologically, and discover 15 of the most remarkable ruby jewels ever offered by the auction house. Christie's held its first dedicated jewelry auction on February 18, 1772, six years after the auction house was founded. While earlier, individual pieces like a ruby and diamond buckle had already appeared during its very first multi-category sale, the largest imperial ruby perure was accepted for sale in 1978. The Bolin Ruby Tiara and Perure was created by the celebrated jeweler Bolin for Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of Tsar Alexander II. According to Christie's records, the tiara was presented to Maria Alexandrovna as a wedding gift for her marriage to Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Victoria's second son. The original tiara had an elaborate foliate scroll design in diamonds, decorated with six floral motifs containing cabochon rubies surrounded by diamonds. The jewels subsequently descended through the family, eventually reaching Princess Margarita of Greece, the elder sister of Prince Philip. Following her passing, all of her rubies entered the remarkable Christie's sale. The original tiara was sold but separated with the rest of jewels consisting of a necklace, brooches, earrings, and a ring. However, the tiara entered the auction again, only this time in the dismantled form, the three brooches, earrings, and a ring. Now we are jumping into the year 2004, which brought back a unique jewel we can often see at Cartier exhibitions. In 1937, Maharaja Digvijay Sinji of Nawanagar commissioned Cartier this spectacular Art Deco necklace, where graduated oval and cushion-shaped rubies are combined with baguette and brilliant cut diamonds, while rectangular cut rubies form the back chain. Since then, the necklace was referred to as the Nawanagar ruby and diamond necklace. Between, the gemological report makes the necklace even more impressive. Of the 116 rubies examined, the majority were identified as Burmese, with no indications of heating. The necklace belonged to a remarkable period when Indian rulers were commissioning European houses such as Cartier to transform their extraordinary gemstone collections into modern jewels, and Nawanagar had already become synonymous with this east-meets-west style. Last sold at 2004 Christie's Geneva for over $3.5 million, this beautiful and powerful in-style necklace was acquired for the prestigious Al Thani collection, and is regularly loaned for international museum exhibitions. But the Patiala jewels tell an even larger story. The Patiala ruby choker was created by Cartier in 1931 for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, one of Cartier's most important Indian clients. He was known for arriving in Europe with trunks of gemstones from his treasury for Cartier to Originally formed part of a much larger bib-style necklace, it disappeared following India's independence and the decline of the princely states. While the large necklace was never found, the ruby choker was accidentally found at the Swiss art market and entered the Christie's Geneva in 2000, under the lot 417. Reacquired and meticulously restored by Cartier, the surviving choker now contains 292 ruby beads, weighing approximately 356.56 carats, combined with 132 threaded natural pearls and diamond and ruby clasps set in platinum. But what happened next was a real deal for the jewelry auction. The Patiala ruby choker entered the Christie's auction room again, but this time as part of exceptionally large jewelry collection, the Maharaja's and Mughal magnificence auction from Al-Thani family. Sold for $975,000, the choker eventually disappeared from public view, and we wonder if it returns to Geneva in future. But some chapters of Christie's royal ruby sales had an unexpected turn as well. Few women understood the power of jewelry better than Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, and while many of her most famous jewels were sold by Sotheby's Geneva, one magnificent bracelet entered the Christie's auction in 2021, Cartier ruby and diamond bangle bracelet. Edward, Duke of Windsor, gave it to Wallis on June 3, 1938, exactly one year after their wedding at the Chateau de Condé in France. The bangle has an especially personal detail hidden on its interior. It is engraved with the message, For our first anniversary of June 3rd. This was characteristic of the Duke's gifts to Wallis, many of which carried personal inscriptions that transformed expensive jewels into highly intimate reminders of their relationship. In 2021, Christie's announced it as one of the highlights of its magnificent jewels. It was cataloged as Lot 14 under the title, The Ruby and Diamond First Anniversary Bracelet, Cartier Paris. Contemporary reports described the planned estimate as approximately $1.1 million to $2.2 million, but what they never expected is that bracelet was withdrawn before the auction. Consequently, there was no winning bidder and no final auction price. So what really happened to the bracelet next? We still don't know. Then came one of Christie's most famous royal jewelry auctions. After Princess Margaret passed away in 2002, many of her jewels were offered at Christie's London in 2006. While the star of the block was her famous diamond Poltimore tiara, among the jewels she had worn for decades was this Cartier ruby flower brooch. Margaret wore the brooch in remarkably versatile ways. During the 1960s, she appeared with it at gala performances and premieres, sometimes even wearing it in her hair. She continued to don it through the 1980s and 1990s and at major occasions, including the wedding of Lady Sarah Chaddow and the Queen Mother's 100th birthday gala. Christie's estimated the brooch at only 15,000 pounds. That's around $20,000. But the auction room had other ideas. It was sold for 108,000 pounds, about $140,000, many times its estimate. And Margaret's ruby story did not end there. Her ruby Girondole earrings were another memorable lot. She had begun wearing them during the 1950s, including in portraits celebrating her 26th birthday. Later, she frequently paired them with halo scroll tiara, lotus flower tiara, and poltimore tiara. The earrings featured diamond clusters with ruby drops and a dramatic Girondole arrangement. They were estimated at only 7,000 pounds. That was $9,000, but ultimately sold for around $70,000. Once again, provenance dramatically transformed the price. And perhaps that is why Princess Margaret's jewelry auction remains such an important chapter in Christie's history. People were not simply buying jewels. They were buying pieces of her extraordinary public life. Now we are going for something completely different. Forget royal necklaces. Forget tiaras. Imagine a giant starfish covered in gemstones. René Boivin's famous starfish brooch was designed by Juliet Moutard and became one of the house's signature creations. Christie's records three identical ruby and sapphire versions, including other examples set with emeralds and aquamarines, and another with sapphires and moonstones. One ruby and amethyst example was made for actress Claudette Colbert, while another was associated with American heiress Millicent Rogers. Adorned with 71 Burmese rubies and 241 amethysts, the brooch features five tentacles, two of which fold inwards. Moreover, the design is articulated, allowing the tentacle of the starfish to move as if to make the jewel appear almost alive. While the same starfish brooch was acquired by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, presumably the one worn by Juliet Moutard, Christie's presented the third model of the ruby and amethyst version, finally leading all of them into the light. Then Christie's received perhaps the most famous celebrity jewelry collection of all, Elizabeth Taylor's jewels. Among them was a Cartier ruby suite given to her by her third husband, Mike Todd, in 1957. The suite consisted of a ruby and diamond necklace, bracelet, and earrings, and Taylor's story of receiving it is almost as famous as the jewels. Todd presented her with three Cartier boxes while they were at their villa in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Taylor had no mirror nearby, so she looked at her reflection in the swimming pool to see the jewels on herself. She later recalled being so delighted that she embraced Todd and pulled him into the pool. At Christie's in 2011, the necklace alone was sold for almost $4 million, while the complete ruby suite realized approximately $5.4 million across its component lots. And then came another extraordinary Taylor ruby. In 1968, Richard Burton gave Elizabeth Taylor a ruby ring by Van Cleef and Arpels. The ruby weighed 8.24 carats. Burton had promised her that he would find a ruby of exceptional color, but he wanted it to be perfect. Four years later, he placed the ring in a tiny box at the bottom of her Christmas stocking. Taylor initially overlooked it. Her daughter, Liza Todd, eventually brought her the box. Inside was the ruby Taylor described as having the most perfect color she had ever seen. At the 2011 Christie's sale, the ring carried an estimate of $1 to $1.5 million, but was sold for an amazing $4 million. It was another example of how the emotional history surrounding a ruby could become inseparable from its auction value. Then in 2015, Christie's encountered a ruby necklace of almost unbelievable scale. Created by Etcetera, the necklace contains 48 Burmese rubies weighing approximately 120 carats in total. The stones range from about 1.10 to 7.02 carats. And the important part is what the gemological report said. The rubies were of Burmese origin, showed no indications of heating, and could be described in the trade as pigeon blood. The necklace also contains 13 pear-shaped diamonds, weighing approximately 5.14 to 1 carat. When Christie's Hong Kong offered it in June 2015, it met the exceptional record-breaking price of $13 million. At the time, Christie's described it as the most expensive ruby-set jewel ever sold at auction. And suddenly the auction world was about to become even hotter. Only months later came the jewel that would eclipse almost everything before it. The Crimson Flame. A 15.04 carat Burmese ruby, unheated, mounted in a diamond ring. Its color was described as the highly prized pigeon blood red. Its crystallization was exceptionally fine. And the auction result was extraordinary. At Christie's Hong Kong on 1 December 2015, the ring was sold for approximately 18 million U.S. dollars. That meant $1.2 million per carat. Christie's still cites the Crimson Flame as holding the record for ruby price per carat established in 2015. Indeed, it was the time when the auction world had entered a new ruby era. But there was another masterpiece waiting just around the corner. In 2016, Christie's celebrated its 250th anniversary. And it needed a jewel worthy of the occasion. Then the world has seen the Jubilee Ruby. This extraordinary Burmese ruby weighed 15.99 carats and was mounted by verdura in platinum and gold, surrounded by diamonds. The ruby was unheated and its origin was identified as from Burma. Christie's described a ruby of this size and quality as extraordinarily rare. And its price? It was sold in New York for $14 million. That made it the most expensive colored gemstone ever sold at a U.S. auction at the time. It also achieved approximately $885,000 per carat. But there was one ruby that had already demonstrated just how high and low the ceiling could go. And this is where our story briefly leaves Christie's. Because if we are talking about the greatest ruby auction records, we cannot ignore the Sunrise Ruby. It was sold by Sotheby's Geneva in 2015 to an Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten, also known as Lot 502 of the evening. The 25.59 carat Burmese ruby was set in a Cartier ring and sold for $30 million. It became the world's most expensive ruby ever sold at auction. But then came a turning point for this record-breaking gem. Following the passing of Heidi Horten, her vast jewelry collection was auctioned by Christie's in Geneva, including the famous Sunrise Ruby. But despite its fame, it was sold only for $14.6 million, less than half its record-breaking price from 2015. This drop occurred because the auction faced severe backlash over the owner's Nazi-era wealth and broader economic caution. Meanwhile, her one more ruby jewel was capturing attention. The Star of Africa Ruby and Diamond Pendant Necklace. Made by Harry Winston, the necklace features a detachable 54.95-carat pear-shaped Mozambique ruby. Accentuated by pear, oval, and round diamonds set in 18-carat yellow gold, it was sold for over $3 million. And our final chapter brings us almost to the present day. In November 2025, Christie's Geneva offered a remarkable group of ancestral jewels from Helena Violet Alice Fraser, 3rd Countess of Stradbroke. Among them was a spectacular late-19th-century ruby and diamond tiara that could also be worn as a necklace. The jewel dates to around 1880 and features a 4.02-carat Burmese ruby, among additional rubies and old-cut diamonds. Its back sections detach so that the jewel can be worn as a tiara or necklace. The second piece is this oval-cluster ruby and diamond pendant brooch. The Countess wore these ruby jewels at the 1902 coronation of King Edward VII. But the real star was arguably the enormous ruby and diamond star pendant. At its center is a 10.07-carat Burmese ruby, accompanied by old and rose-cut diamonds. The star brooch was sold for $2.86 million, the oval brooch for $1 million, while the convertible ruby tiara sold only for $716,000. But what I like about them is that more than a century after these jewels were worn at a royal coronation, they were still capable of creating a sensation in the auction room, especially this star brooch, which I admire most of all. And perhaps that is what makes the history of rubies so fascinating. A ruby can begin its life in the mines of Burma, enter an imperial treasury, become part of a royal wedding gift, be transformed by Cartier or Bollin, appear in the jewelry box of a Hollywood legend, and decades later become the center of a bidding war at Christie's. The numbers are extraordinary. Millions for necklaces, millions for rings, millions for jewels whose owners have been gone for generations. But here is what we often may ask. Why does one ruby become priceless? While another, sometimes just as large, does not. The answer lies in color, origin, treatment, clarity, and rarity. But also in something impossible to measure. The story. Because when the auctioneer raises the hammer, bidders are not buying only a red gemstone. They are buying a fragment of history. And that is why the Christie's ruby diaries are far from finished. Because these same jewels no doubt can enter the auction room again with the new story adding up to its past. If you liked this video, welcome to write down your impressions, like and subscribe to help us grow our community of jewelry lovers. Have a nice day.