The legendary biannual jewelry auctions in Geneva are right around the corner. With that in mind, we’re taking a look back at some of the statement gems and noble jewels that have smashed records at auction in years past—specifically, the history-making pieces that are fitted with rubies.
Here are five of the of the most expensive ruby jewelry pieces ever sold at auction and a little information about each of them.

The Sunrise Ruby and Diamond Ring by Cartier – $30,335,698 USD

Sold by Sotheby’s at their May 2015 Geneva auction, this extraordinary ring broke records and, likely, a few hearts. The center gemstone was a 25.59-carat Mogok Burmese ruby that was accompanied by a report from the SSEF (the Swiss Foundation for the Research of Gemstones) and from Gübelin (one of the foremost gem labs in the world). The reports verify the ruby’s Burmese origin and “pigeon-blood” color and certify that there was no indication of heat treatment.

The Sotheby’s catalog noted at the time that the ruby “displays a homogeneous and richly saturated ‘pigeon blood red’ colour, which typifies the finest of these gems. The depth of colour, combined with a high clarity and brilliance, all contribute to the beauty of the gem. The shape and finely proportioned cut provides vivid internal colour reflections.”

The ruby was set into a platinum signed and numbered Cartier mounting and flanked by shield-shaped diamonds weighing 2.47 and 2.70 carats each.

The Graff Ruby Ring – $8,600,410 USD

Another expensive ruby ring sold at a Sotheby’s Geneva auction is the Graff Ruby, which was sold back to an earlier owner – Laurence Graff – in November of 2014. The cushion-cut, Burmese ruby, also of “pigeon blood red” color, weighs 8.62 carats and is set between triangle-shaped diamonds in a white metal mounting accompanied by bead-set round brilliant cut diamonds.

A Diamond Brooch containing 10.10 Carat Burmese Ruby – $8,428,127 USD

At a November 2014 auction held by Christie’s in Hong Kong, an incredible signed Cartier platinum, diamond, and Burmese ruby brooch fetched a whopping $8.4 million. The brooch contained a 10.10 carat Mogok Burmese ruby (“pigeon’s blood” in color), and, according to the Christie’s description, the ruby “exhibits a saturated and vivid red colour combined with a fine purity and a very attractive cutting style. The tiny inclusions found by microscopic inspection represent the hallmarks of rubies from the classical ruby mines in Mogok Valley in Burma.”

The brooch was also outfitted with four triangle-shaped white, natural diamonds in its corners and twelve additional square-cut diamonds throughout.

The Patiño Ruby and Diamond Ring – $6,736,750 USD

In May of 2012, a 32.08 carat ruby set into a gold Chaumet ring with trapeze cut side stones hit the auction block. The ring fetched almost 7 million dollars at Christie’s Geneva auction that year, and for good reason. The Patiño Ruby once belonged to Luz Mila Patiño, Countess du Boisrouvray and daughter of Bolivian tin tycoon Simon Patiño, who was also related closely to Prince Rainier of Monaco. Countess Patiño was known for her jewelry collection, which was largely auctioned off by her daughter to use for charitable purposes.

The Queen of Burma – $6,084,559 USD

Once belonging to His Highness Khengarji III, the Maharaja of Kutch, the Queen of Burma ruby ring was sold at the November 2014 Christie’s auction in Geneva. The pinkish-red, oval-shaped Burmese ruby weighed approximately 23.66 carats and was claw-set into a platinum and baguette diamond platinum signed Cartier mounting. This marvelous specimen was sold at a for just over 6 million U.S. dollars.

Unlike white diamonds that are valued for the absence of color, fancy color diamonds are prized for the saturation of color and rich shades of blue, yellow and pink are exceedingly rare in nature. Here we look at the world’s premier fancy colored diamonds, distinguished for their remarkable color, clarity and impressive size and their jaw-dropping price tags.

The Pink Star

The Pink Star, previously known as the Steinmetz Pink, is the largest diamond to have been graded a Fancy Vivid Pink. Its color and size rank it among the top three in its pink diamond class. After five minutes of bidding at a 2017 Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong, the oval-shaped 59.6-carat pink diamond broke the record for the highest price ever paid for a jewel: a whopping $71 million USD.

The Spirit of de Grisogono

When the Spirit of de Grisogono rough diamond was first discovered in Africa, it weighed an astounding 587 carats, an enormous black diamond. The rough diamond was cut down to 312.24 carats by Swiss jeweler, De Grisogono. Even after being cut and faceted, the Spirit of de Grisogono still holds the title as the largest black diamond in the world and is the world’s fifth largest diamond overall. The Spirit of de Grisogono is currently set in a white gold ring, surrounded by 702 white diamonds that total 36.69 carats. It’s value has not been disclosed.

The Hope Diamond

Believed to have been discovered in India in the 1600s, the Hope Diamond was bought by King Louis XIV in 1668. After hundreds of years of grinding, cutting and polishing, the stone weighs 54.52 carats, and is classified as a Fancy Dark Grayish-Blue diamond. (For more on the cursed history of the Hope Diamond, read our post on the topic here.) The third most expensive colored diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond is valued at an incredible $250 million and sits amid high security at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

The Ocean Dream

Mined from central Africa, the Ocean Dream diamond is a fancy deep blue-green, triangular brilliant (or trillion-cut) diamond. It is the largest naturally colored fancy deep blue-green diamond in the world. Thus in spite of its relatively small size (5.51 carats) compared to other famous diamonds, the Ocean Dream earns the distinction of being one of the rarest diamonds in the world.

The Oppenheimer Blue

The Oppenheimer Blue, at 14.62 carats, is the largest Vivid Blue diamond ever to appear at auction. This diamond, named after its previous owner, Sir Phillip Oppenheimer, stunned auction-goers, when it sold for an incredible $57 million USD in 2016. The buyer remains anonymous. Following the auction, the Oppenheimer Blue held the title as the most expensive jewel every sold at auction, until it was unseated by the Pink Star Diamond in 2017.

The Incomparable Diamond

For being such an impressively named stone, The Incomparable Diamond has a humble origin story: this fancy colored diamond was found in 1984 by a little girl playing in a pile of rocks and rubble outside her uncle’s house in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rubble, which had been dismissed as being too bulky to bother scanning for diamonds, hid the largest brown diamond in the world. The Incomparable Diamond was cut down from 890 to 407.5 carats to have fewer internal flaws and emphasize its fancy brownish-yellow color. The stone is valued around $20 million USD.

To learn about more rare and expensive gemstones, read our post The World’s 10 Rarest and Most Expensive Gemstones here.