James J. Hill Sapphire

It is known for its former owner, railroad executive James J. Hill, who purchased it in 1886 for his wife as part of a diamond- and sapphire-adorned necklace.

[4] When Gertrude died in 2005, she included in her will that the sapphire would be given to Friends of the James J. Hill House with the authorization to sell it.

[3][1] It was sought to be sold, and initial expectations of the price of the sapphire was approximately $80,000 to $90,000, though it was later upgraded to $250,000 to $350,000 when the Minnesota Historical Society, the administers of the James J. Hill House turned it over to Christie's New York.

[1] The sapphire's value was later upped by Rahul Kadakia, senior vice president and head of jewelry at Christie's America, to approximately $1 million.

Its catalogue copy read "one of the most important sapphires currently on the market and is unsurpassed in richness and life," which author Stephen G. Bloom described as "expected hyperbole."

[1] Kadakia claimed that the sale was "the perfect auction situation" due to its family history, age, its unknown status, and the cause it was going towards.