A platinum, Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring was the top lot of the December 9 Magnificent Jewels sale in New York.
It realised $5.1m against a valuation of $4.5m, up 13.8%.
 The sapphire ring was owned by the Fortune Ryan family |
Sotheby's explains the sapphire "hails from three generations of one of America's most prominent families: that of Thomas Fortune Ryan (1851-1928), who stands alongside J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller in the annals of American financial history."
It weighs in at 25.57 carats, with two .40 carat diamonds on either side.
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