A 46.51 carat oval-cut E-colour diamond ring took the breath away at Christie's Important Jewels auction in New York on June 14.
The $4.2m beauty was the clear star of an exceptional auction, which amassed $11.7m in total, with 98% of lots selling.
The VVS2 diamond was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder for substantially more than its $3.5m high end estimate.
It is likely that the diamond's striking looks helped boost its appeal to alternative investors at the auction.
A pear-shaped 10.01 carat diamond was the only other lot to break the $1m mark, coming in at $1.3m or $131,000 per carat, comfortably within estimate.
 Lucky the lady who receives this: $4.2m of diamond ring |
The sale rounded off a strong first half for Christie's jewellery department, as the auction house's jewellery expert Rahul Kadakia explains.
"After a spectacular season of auctions in Geneva, Hong Kong and London, our June 14 sale in New York capped the first half of 2011 with worldwide jewellery sales of $231.5 million - our highest total ever for a spring season," said Kadakia.
"As expected, prices for exceptional diamonds continued to hold strong, as illustrated by the top price of $4.2 million for a magnificent E colour oval diamond of 46.51 carats."
Christie's rival Sotheby's has also enjoyed strong jewellery sales this year, particularly in the growing Asian markets.
Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale in Hong Kong this April achieved $53m, with a $2.24m Bulgari ruby weighing 27.67 carats among the highlights.
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