Rare 'pigeon blood' ruby sells for record-breaking USD 30 mln

A model holds the 'Sunrise Ruby' during an auction preview at Sotheby's auction house in Geneva, Switzerland, in this May 6, 2015 file photo. The Burmese ruby weighing 25.59 carats sold for a world record 28.25 million Swiss francs ($30.42 million) at an auction that saw strong appetite for coloured stones and exceptional natural pearls, Sotheby's said on Tuesday. 'The Sunrise Ruby', the evening's star lot which has the rare grading of 'pigeon's blood' colour, sold after back and forth bidding by two telephone bidders. REUTERS file photo

A rare "pigeon blood" ruby has fetched a record-breaking USD 30.33 million at an auction here while a rare pink diamond that may have originated from the famous Golconda mines in India has sold for USD 15.9 million.

The 25.59 carat ruby sold for USD 30.33 million, more than twice its estimated price, to an anonymous telephone bidder, Sotheby's auction house said.

The gem from Myanmar, part of a collection of Cartier jewels up for auction, had been expected to sell for between USD 12 million and USD 18 million.

It set a record for a ruby and was also a record for a Cartier jewel at auction, Sotheby's said.

At the spring Magnificent Jewels and Nobel Jewels auction, an "extremely rare" fancy vivid pink diamond weighing 8.72 carats sold for USD 15.9 million.

The stone, known as "The Historic Pink", is believed to have been part of the collection of Princess Mathilde, niece of French Emperor Napoleon I.

The exquisite 8.72 carat stone only recently resurfaced, having been kept in a bank vault since the 1940s.

While origins of the stone remain unclear, it may have been found in the famous Golconda mines near Hyderabad, according to David Bennett, head of Sotheby's international jewellery division.