Two exceptionally rare Kashmir sapphire brooches that lay sealed in a family vault for nearly 40 years have sold for almost €1.4 million at Adam’s auction house in Dublin, continuing a remarkable story spanning American high society and Irish aristocracy.
The brooches, once owned by relatives of the 7th Earl of Wicklow, commanded extraordinary prices during Tuesday’s sale. Lot 46, valued at up to €250,000, sold for €540,000, while lot 47 fetched €550,000 following intense bidding from room participants, phone bidders, and online buyers. Including the 25% commission, the total value reached €1.36 million.
Kashmir sapphires represent the pinnacle of fine gemstones, with their unique coloration considered superior to even the finest stones from Myanmar or Sri Lanka. The auctioneer noted the rarity of the moment: “You wait for a long time for one rare sapphire to come along, then two do at the same time.”
The jewelry traces back to New York’s Gilded Age, when Benjamin Aymar Sands and his wife Amy Kirby Akin gifted pieces to their daughter May Emily Sands in 1908 to celebrate her marriage to Hugh Melville Howard, youngest son of the 6th Earl of Wicklow.
The marriage tragically ended early when Hugh died of pneumonia and May developed psychological problems requiring institutionalization. Their children, Katharine and Cecil, were raised by their uncle, the 7th Earl of Wicklow, at Shelton Abbey.
Katharine Howard later purchased Ounavarra House in Wexford, where she farmed and contributed significantly to Irish society through the Girl Guides, An Taisce, and various charitable organizations. When Cecil died in New York in 1983, the Earldom became extinct. Following Katharine’s death in 1990, she was buried in the family vault at Kilbride Church in Wicklow, which was then sealed as she was the last surviving descendant.
Claire-Laurence Mestrallet, Adam’s director and jewelry specialist, explained that the current owner decided to sell the collection as “jewelry she doesn’t intend to wear.” The 18 lots also included diamond, sapphire and emerald rings, gold coins, a diamond choker, and a pearl pendant.
Both sapphire brooches were purchased by foreign buyers, according to Mestrallet. The sale follows Adam’s record-breaking Kashmir sapphire ring auction last May, which sold for €550,000 – nearly 70 times its estimated value and the highest price ever achieved in Ireland for such a gemstone.