Editor’s Note
This article explores six landmark jewelry auctions that have captivated the world, from royal heirlooms and Hollywood treasures to record-breaking gemstones. These historic sales not only reshaped the market but also defined what makes an auction truly legendary.
From royal romances and Hollywood legends to record-shattering diamonds and legendary design, these six landmark sales reshaped the jewelry market and defined what greatness looks like at auction.
At their best, jewelry auctions capture history, emotion, provenance, and rarity with the fall of a gavel. The greatest jewelry auctions of all time did more than set records. They reshaped the market by proving that a jewel’s story, authenticity, and cultural resonance can elevate it far beyond carat weight or craftsmanship, transforming it into an object of global fascination.
From royal romances and Hollywood legends to diamonds so rare they redefined what value itself means, these six landmark auctions stand apart. Each one shifted the way collectors think about jewelry—and why the world stops to watch when the most extraordinary jewels ever created come to market.
Grant Mobley is the Jewelry & Watch Editor of Only Natural Diamonds. He is a GIA Diamonds Graduate. He has over 17 years of jewelry industry experience, starting with growing up in his family’s retail jewelry stores.
Ahead, discover the jewelry auctions that changed history forever.
When Sotheby’s offered the jewels of the Duchess of Windsor in 1987, the sale instantly became the gold standard against which all jewelry auctions are measured. The 311-piece collection achieved $50.3 million, nearly seven times its estimate, an outcome that stunned the market and permanently altered auction psychology.
These jewels carried unparalleled cultural gravity. They were gifts from King Edward VIII to Wallis Simpson, the woman for whom he abdicated the British throne. No other jewelry collection has ever combined romance, scandal, power, and design at this level.
Top-selling pieces included the McLean Diamond, a 31.26-carat cushion-cut diamond ring that realized $3.15 million; her emerald engagement ring, at $2.13 million; and her ruby and diamond 40th-birthday necklace, at $2.6 million. Her diamond and onyx panther bracelet by Cartier also emerged as one of the most iconic jewels of the 20th century.
