🔻A large, bright blue ruby that was once part of Russia’s royal jewels was sold at an auction in Geneva for a price close to five million dollars.

The stone, which measures approximately 30 by 35 millimeters, is currently set on a Cartier diamond bracelet with a jewelry-design motif.

Historical documents show that the ruby was first worn in 1903 by Maria Feodorovna, the Dowager Queen (the mother of Tsar Nicholas II), at the grand “Winter Palace Celebration” in Saint Petersburg, with this 200-carat stone seated in the middle of the necklace.

After the Russian Revolution and the fall of the Romanov government, a Polish opera singer named Ganna Walska bought the jewel.

The ruby later came into the possession of Cartier’s jewelry house; they also mounted the stone on a diamond bracelet.

The new owner of the bracelet is an anonymous collector. 📷EPA