(IDEX Online) - A ring set with a pear-shaped 12.38-carat VVS2 fancy pink diamond was sold to an online bidder for $4.6m by Sotheby's.
The pink gem was flanked by by two pear-shaped white diamonds, both D color and IF, weighing 0.52 and 0.51 carats. The estimate was $4m to $5m.
It was the star lot in a hybrid live/online auction in New York, Sotheby's first sale with bidders in attendance since the pandemic hit in March.
A pendant featuring a pear-shaped D-color IF diamond weighing 51.92 carats, surmounted by 3.65-carat fancy brownish orangey pink diamond, also went to an online bidder. It fetched $3.2m.
Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of all bids for all lots were online.
"This auction was presented in a new and innovative format, a hybrid of online advance bidding culminating in the drama of a live auction," said Kendall Reed, head of fine and online jewels at Sotheby's New York.
"We were thrilled to see that more than two-thirds of our buyers participated by bidding online."