New York, June 20 (IANS) A Golconda diamond ‘Arcot II’ once owned by Queen Charlotte, consort of King of Great Britain George III, a diamond necklace of the Nizams of Hyderabad, and a jewel-studded bracelet by Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda, were among the sought-after Indian jewels that fetched high prices at a Christie’s auction here.
The auction titled “Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence” had on offer 400 royal objects from The Al Thani Collection of Qatar’s royal family.
The 17-carat Golconda diamond “Arcot II”, of the Nawab of Arcot that later came to belong to the British royal family, sold for a stunning Rs 23.5 crore ($3,375,00).
The sale on Wednesday also included an antique diamond riviere necklace once owned by the Nizams of Hyderabad, which sold for $2,415,000 (nearly Rs 17 crore). The 33-diamond necklace was estimated to sell for $1,500,000 (nearly Rs 10.5 crore), Christie’s announced on Twitter.
The bracelet of the Baroda queen, studded with emerald beads, baguette, diamonds, and platinum was sold for Rs 11.4 crore.
Global auction house Christie’s earlier said that this collection is poised to be the most valuable auction of jewellery and jewelled objects. The current auction record is held by The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor, which totalled $144 million in 2011.
The auction house also sold a gem-set model of a parrot, possibly Mughal in origin but taken from the collection of the Nizams of Hyderabad, sold for Rs 7.21 crore.
The auction had started with the ‘Indore Sapphire Taveez Bead Pendant Necklace, Mounted By Cartier’ that owes its provenance to Indore’s Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar II, who was educated in England and spent much time abroad with his wife.
The royal necklace achieved $206,250 (Rs 1.44 crore), surpassing a high estimate of $60,000 (Rs 42 lakh), Christie’s said in a tweet.
An antique diamond ring of Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur sold for Rs 4.45 crore.
Another major sale was of an enamelled and jewelled ‘huqqah’ set from 1680-1720, “almost certainly made in the imperial Mughal workshop” as per Christie’s, which went under the hammer for $759,000 (almost Rs 5.3 crore) as compared to its higher limit estimate of $350,000 (almost Rs 2.4 crore).
Another carved emerald brooch, and interchangeable ‘Jigha’ mounting depicting Lord Rama, Sita and Hanuman has sold for $735,000 (close to Rs 5.12 crore).
A five-strand natural pearl and diamond necklace and a diamond brooch created by Mumbai-based jewellery house Bhagat sold for high prices as well — Rs 11.8 crore and Rs 1.5 crore respectively.
–IANS
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