A stunning necklace by Salvador Dali was a standout at Sotheby’s record-breaking auction of Surrealist and modern art on Friday. 

The piece is aptly titled Swirling Sea Necklace, as the 18-karat gold was sculpted into an undulating circlet inlaid with diamonds, and a large, cultured pearl. A fringe of sapphire and emerald beads dangles from the band. Together, the stones evoke waves rising and breaking against a golden shore.

It sold at Sotheby’s “Surrealism and Its Legacy” auction on October 24 for €736,600 ($858,500), double its €300,000–€500,000 estimate.

According to the provenance published by Sotheby’s, Dali conceived Swirling Sea Necklace in 1954. Its first owner was São Schlumberger, who acquired it in 1963, the same year it was realized by the New York jewelers Alemany and Co., according to the provenance published by Sotheby’s. São Schlumberger went on to marry Pierre Schlumberger, a scion of the oil family, and became a frequent patron of Dali, who painted her portrait many times between 1963 and 1965.

In 2014, Sotheby’s won the art and jewelry collection of São and Pierre Schlumberger. The Dali necklace first hit the block at the auction house with an estimate of $100,000–$150,000, as part of a day sale of Impressionist and m...