HELSINKI, May 16 (RIA Novosti, Olga Andrianova) - Emperor Alexander III's diamond ring made a sensation at the spring Bukovsky antiquarian auction in Finland, yesterday. The auction offers all related facts and figures on its official website.
The gold diamond-studded ring, bearing the royal monogram on white enamel, was the Russian Emperor's gift to bandmaster Adolph Frederick Leander, whose performance immensely pleased Alexander as he was visiting Finland in 1888.
The ring was auctioned off at 31,000 euros, as against a 7,000-euro starting price. The deed that confirmed the provenance of the jewel, and a photograph of Leander's army band appeared at the auction together with the precious item.
Proceeding from its exceptional artistic and historical value, Finland's Museum Board prohibited the buyer, a Finnish national, to remove the jewel from the country.