A rare 9.54-carat blue diamond ring that belonged to former child star Shirley Temple has failed to buy a buyer at a touted Sotheby’s auction in New York.
The ring, flush in its original Art Deco setting, was originally expected to bring between $25 million and $35 million.
In the last two months, Sotheby’s heavily promoted the ring, exhibiting it at its bureaus in Hong Kong and Los Angeles and taking it on a major media tour.
The Hollywood actress’ father gave her the jewel in 1940, around the time of her 12th birthday and when the girl’s film “The Blue Bird” premiered. Temple’s father paid $7,210 for the ring, the auction house said last month.
Despite its history and rarity — the rock is, after all, fancy deep blue — the ring remains in Sotheby’s hands.
Depending on the lot’s consigner’s preferences, the ring could be recalled, considered for a private sale orchestrated by the auction house, or saved for a future public sale.
Last year, Sotheby’s set a fresh world auction record for any diamond or gemstone ― as well as a record price-per-carat for any diamond or gemstone ― when a 12.03-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond sold for $48.5 million.