Platinum, sapphire and diamond ring. , Raymond Yard , 1939. Photo Sotheby's

The oval sapphire weighing 27.08 carats, flanked by hexagonal-shaped, baguette and bullet-shaped diamonds, size 5¼, signed Yard. ESTIMATE 600,000-800,000 USD. Lot Sold: 722,500 USD

Accompanied by AGL report no. CS 39642 stating that the sapphire is of Burmese origin, no gemological evidence of heat enhancement present.

Together with a letter from AGL stating that this sapphire is classified as Excellent. 'This rating category is reserved for a limited number of rare gemstones that exhibit all the individual elements that define the highest level of a category. Augmenting the importance of this material is its unusual size and the fact that the gem does not exhibit any gemological evidence of heating or clarity alteration common in many sapphires available in today's marketplace. This lack of enhancement further accentuates the rarity and desirability of this rare combination of size and quality.'

The sapphire ring offered here is illustrated by Natasha Kuzmanovic in Yard: The Life and Magnificent Jewelry of Raymond C. Yard, p. 208, no. 298. According to Kuzmanovic, the sapphire was selected by Louis Comfort Tiffany and later mounted as a ring for John Jacob Astor in 1939 by Raymond Yard. The single stone mounting with small baguette or bullet diamonds on each side, as found in the present ring, gained popularity during the 1930s and replaced the earlier Yard ring mountings with round diamond decoration.

Raymond Yard was considered a 'jeweler's jeweler' by his peers. He was extremely knowledgeable about the technical side of jewelry making and had an impeccable eye for stones. After working his way up the ladder at Marcus & Co., he was encouraged to open his own firm in 1922 by John D. Rockefeller Jr. who was a prominent client. In addition to his formidable knowledge and talent, Yard's charismatic personality and reputation for honesty made him the favorite jeweler of New York's moneyed elite, including the Woolworths, DuPonts and Havemeyers. It is not surprising therefore that Raymond Yard would have been the jeweler of choice to make the present sapphire ring for John Jacob Astor.

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels. New York | 07 Dec 2011 www.sothebys.com