Princess Birgitta of Sweden’s jewels sold at Sotheby’s Geneva

On 11 November 2026, Sotheby’s sold in Geneva seven jewels that belonged to Princess Birgitta of Sweden, who died in December 2024, including sapphires that tradition links to Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. Estimates, provenance and result.

Seven lots from Princess Sibylla

The jewels went under the hammer at 5 pm in Royal & Noble Jewels, Sotheby’s annual sale devoted to royal and noble provenance. It was led by the 197.80-carat Romanov sapphire mounted by Cartier, which we previewed before the sale. The catalogue groups lots 1061 to 1067 under the name of Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1908-1972), mother of Birgitta and of King Carl XVI Gustaf. All seven share the same final provenance: Princess Birgitta of Sweden, Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Sotheby’s does not name the seller; on its website, all seven lots are closed with the reserve met.

What were Birgitta’s jewels worth?

Sotheby’s estimated the group at 363,500 to 595,500 Swiss francs, or about 392,000 to 643,000 euros at the ECB reference rate of 13 November 2026 (1 euro to 0.9266 Swiss franc). These estimates are before buyer’s premium, which is 28% of the hammer price up to 1.6 million Swiss francs (about 1.73 million euros). The demi-parure accounted for most of it: 300,000 to 500,000 Swiss francs (about 324,000 to 540,000 euros). Prices realised are reserved for registered clients, and the house has not issued a results release.

Sapphires that passed through Tsar Ferdinand

The demi-parure, lot 1067, combines a 45 cm necklace and a pair of pendent earrings. According to the tradition reported by Sotheby’s, the stones belonged to Dagmar of Denmark, later Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928), mother of the last tsar. The necklace was the wedding gift of the former Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria to Sibylla, who married Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, in 1932. Two pendants from the necklace became the earrings; the case by the Munich jeweller Rath bears the princess’s cypher. The Swiss laboratory SSEF counts fifteen Ceylon sapphires and one from Burma. Birgitta wore it at the weddings of her nieces Victoria, in 2010, and Madeleine, in 2013.

A 23.64-carat padparadscha

The lot 1066 brooch, made around 1910, surrounds a 23.64-carat cushion-shaped padparadscha sapphire with a garland of diamond flowers and leaves. The SSEF report gives its origin as Ceylon, with no indications of heating. Sotheby’s estimated it at 40,000 to 60,000 Swiss francs (about 43,000 to 65,000 euros); the catalogue shows Sibylla wearing it. Compare with the most expensive diamonds in the world.

Christening pearls and a Colombian emerald

Lot 1065 is a Belle Epoque seed pearl and diamond necklace, 51 cm long. King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria had given it to their daughter-in-law, Margaret of Connaught, on the birth of Prince Bertil in 1912. Bertil gave it to his niece Birgitta for her christening, in 1937. Estimate: 2,000 to 3,000 Swiss francs (about 2,200 to 3,200 euros). Also from Sibylla came a ring with a 7.58-carat Colombian emerald, in a case by the court jeweller Holm & Hallgren (12,000 to 18,000 Swiss francs, about 13,000 to 19,400 euros), a pearl bracelet with a 19th-century emerald brooch, two rings and a diamond bracelet.

Who was Princess Birgitta?

Born in 1937, Birgitta was the second of the five children of Sibylla and Prince Gustaf Adolf, who died in 1947. In 1961 she married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1932-2016), an art historian; they had three children, Carl Christian, Désirée and Hubertus. According to Sotheby’s, she long assisted her brother in his representational duties, wearing historic jewels. Living mainly in Majorca, she died on 4 December 2024, according to the Royal Court of Sweden. This autumn Sotheby’s also sold the jewels of Pauline Karpidas.

Information verified on 14 November 2026. Sources: Royal & Noble Jewels sale page, Sotheby’s, lot pages 1067, 1066 and 1065, sale catalogue, Sotheby’s Geneva conditions of business, Royal Court of Sweden, ECB reference rates.