Jewellery that belonged to Princess Birgitta of Sweden has sold for about 25 million kronor at Sotheby's in Geneva, led by a brooch that made nearly twenty times its valuation. The princess, the elder sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf, died in December 2024 aged 87, leaving a large jewellery collection that has now begun to come to market.

The standout piece was a brooch set with a padparadscha sapphire, a rare pink-orange variety of the stone named after the lotus blossom, surrounded by diamonds. Valued before the sale at around 700,000 kronor, it sold for 13.4 million kronor, the highest price of any piece in the group. Padparadscha sapphires are among the scarcest varieties of the gem, and large stones of fine colour seldom appear at auction.

The second-highest result came from a sapphire and diamond necklace with matching earrings, which Birgitta had inherited from her mother, Princess Sibylla. That set sold for around ten million kronor. Together the two pieces accounted for almost the entire total of the sale, which was reported by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

The jewels were offered in Sotheby's Royal & Noble Jewels sale in Geneva, staged alongside the house's High Jewelry auction on 11 November, whose leading lot was an 8.63-carat fancy intense pink diamond estimated at $4 million to $6 million. The Birgitta sale continues a strong run of Geneva results this week, with the city's jewellery and watch auctions drawing heavy international bidding.