A brooch once owned by Eva Peron has sold for $461,000 at Christie's jewellery sale in New York - towards the high end of its $300,000-500,000 estimate.
 The brooch was presented to Peron sometime before 1949 |
Presented to Peron sometime before 1949, the brooch depicts the blue and white of the Argentinean flag - with a superimposed sunburst.
The emblem is known as the Sun of May, and represents the May 1810 election of Argentina's first post-colonial government - following the withdrawal of the Spanish.
An impressive coloured 8.77 carat diamond ring was the top lot of the sale, achieving $6.3m. The ring featured a type IIA pink diamond, which are exceptionally rare in nature.
A rare coloured diamond ring, featuring a modified rectangular cut fancy vivid blue diamond, achieved $3.9m.
The gem has been classified as type IIB, which are among the rarest diamonds in the world, as well as being semi-conductors that can conduct electricity.
Rahul Kadakia, Christie's head of jewellery for Americas & Switzerland, commented: "Colored diamonds kicked off the first major jewelry sale of the season at Christie's New York.
"The collections of Diana Dollar Knowles and The Estate of the Honorable Noreen Stonor Drexel performed very well with some of the finest examples of vintage David Webb jewels.
"Eva Peron's Argentine Flag Brooch was offered for the second time at Christie's, after fifteen years, and was acquired by an Argentinean collector for $461,000."
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