Applause filled the sale room at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago as the hammer fell on a vintage Tiffany & Co. 6.5-carat, natural-cut emerald. The final selling price? A stunning $228,000, far more than the pre-sale estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

"Today, the market is hungry for important jewelry from estate collections," said Leslie Hindman, president of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. When an estate piece is made by a prominent company such as Tiffany and the stone is of good quality, bidding wars are sure to break out. In this case, 13 bidders battled it out against the anonymous buyer.

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