Spring marked by blue for Aste Bolaffi in Turin. The auction sale organized by the company for the end of March culminated in the awarding of a ring with a prestigious 4.61-carat Kashmir blue sapphire, sold for 370,000 euros after a telephone and in-room duel between numerous international collectors. The jewel was purchased by an important New York buyer. The stone, free of signs of heating and inclusions, is characterized by a uniform velvety blue color, the most sought after and appreciated. The jewel comes from the heirs of an important Milanese family together with other precious items. The sale for the Turin maison ended with over 2.4 million euros, a record for the jewelery department.
The sapphire had no certification of origin, but gemological investigations by the Basel SSEF officially confirmed its provenance: the Kashmir region, north-west of the Himalayan chain, where a small mine rich in sapphires of extraordinary beauty was discovered in the 19th century, then exploited intensely, only for a few years, at the behest of the maharajah and now exhausted.
A memorable auction both in general, for the record of the jewelery department, and for this spectacular sapphire, which is proof of the added value that Aste Bolaffi can offer sellers. Specifically, I am proud to have been able to demonstrate it, thanks to the competence and stubbornness of our specialist, Maria Carla Manenti, who allowed the selling family to see a beautiful sapphire transformed into a stone of exceptional provenance. Once this discovery was ascertained, certified by the supreme authority on the subject consulted by us, the other added value was given by our international network which brought the most important buyers from all over the world to battle at the auction, thus allowing the sensational result.
Filippo Bolaffi, CEO of Aste Bolaffi
Among the other jewels that achieved the best prices were a pair of earrings in blue sapphires and diamonds, which went up to 167,000 euros, a rare necklace made up of five strands of natural saltwater pearls, purchased for 143,000 euros, more than three times the starting price, a platinum ring with a 5-carat rectangular stepped cut diamond, sold for 50,000 euros, a carnelian cameo engraved by Benedetto Pistrucci, purchased for 45,000 euros (lot 203), a pair of agate and enamel bookends signed by Alfredo Ravasco, one of the leading Italian goldsmiths of the 1920s and 1930s, depicting tropical fish, sought for up to 25,000 euros.
