Princess Sibylla’s Padparadscha Sapphire Brooch

In addition to her magnificent Sapphire Demi-Parure, Princess Sibylla of Sweden’s Padparadscha Sapphire Brooch is among the Jewels of the late Princess Birgitta of Sweden going on Auction in the Sotheby’s ‘Royal & Noble Jewels’ Sale in Geneva this month!

An Important Belle Epoque Padparadscha Sapphire and Diamond Brooch, collet-set with a cushion-shaped Padparadscha sapphire weighing 23.64 carats, within a border millegrain-set with circular- and single-cut diamonds; circa 1910. The exact origin of this Padparadscha Sapphire and Diamond Brooch is not known but it may be an heirloom of the Saxe-Coburg und Gotha Royal Family.

Princess Sibylla notably wore this Padparadscha Sapphire Brooch for a photograph taken soon after the birth of her fourth daughter, Princess Christina, in 1943.

The Padparadscha Sapphire Brooch was worn by Princess Sibylla for numerous portraits and events through the 1950s, though it seems to have been usually slightly hidden in most photographs.

When Princess Birgitta of Sweden married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern in 1961, Princess Sibylla gave her Padparadscha Sapphire Brooch as a wedding gift to her second daughter.

Princess Birgitta first wore the Padparadscha Sapphire Brooch with her Pearl Circle Tiara, a wedding gift from her grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, for her Wedding Ball at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1961.