Jewelry auction nets $39 million

Forget that girl with the pearl earring. The mothball-size Baroda Pearls, a two-strand necklace that adorned generations of Indian princes, fetched a record $7.1 million this week at Christie’s in New York.

The price shattered the previous $3.13-million auction record for a pearl necklace, set in 2004 at Christie’s in Geneva. The Baroda, 68 cream and pinkish gems with a Cartier diamond clasp, was estimated to sell for $7 million to $9 million. An unidentified Asian buyer bid by phone.

The Baroda moment came at the end of Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale, which tallied $39.1 million. The auction included knuckle-grazing diamond rings, Art Deco cigarette cases and sparkly earrings, as well as items owned by the American Hutton family, of the E.F. Hutton brokerage dynasty.

A 22.7-carat Kashmir sapphire pendant, estimated at up to $350,000, surprised the roomful of dealers and private buyers by fetching $3.06 million, becoming the most expensive sapphire ever purchased at auction. The 1886 pendant with a deep-blue gem was sold on behalf of the Minnesota Historical Society.