WORLD : Thimble Brings Record $38,600

A 16th-Century gold thimble believed to have belonged to Queen Elizabeth I was bought by London jewelers today for $38,600, a record price for a thimble.

The 1-inch-long thimble, set with tiny rubies and paste sapphires, was probably part of a gift from the Mogul Empire in India to the queen. It was later given to one of her ladies-in-waiting.

The previous record price for a thimble was $14,600.

The thimble was from the estate of Dorothy Silvester. She inherited a collection from her mother, Dorothy Howell, once described in a collectors’ guide as “The Queen of Thimbles.”