A 20-year price-per-carat record for a gemstone was shattered Monday during a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.

A 6.04 cts internally-flawless emerald-cut Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond Ring sold for $7.98 million, well above pre-auction estimates.

The $1.3 million per carat price that the diamond ring received “substantially exceeded the prior record price per carat of $926,000 for the Hancock Red and almost doubled the recent per carat price for a blue diamond achieved elsewhere at auction,” said Quek Chin Yeow, Head of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Jewellery Department & Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia.

No fewer than seven telephone bidders were battling for the ring in an auction that lasted eight minutes, the auction house said.

Other big draws during the auction of magnificent jewelers and jadeite included an emerald with a famous provenance and a very fine collection of jadeite jewelry assembled by an important Asian private collector.

The ‘Irving Berlin Emerald’ – an Important Emerald and Diamond Sautoir, featuring an extremely rare deep, vivid green emerald weighing 47.60 cts. brought the price of $2.6 million. With certified Colombian origins, the stone was formerly owned by American songwriter and lyricist, Irving Berlin, and his wife, Ellin Mackay.

Another magnificent colored stone, a Superb Ruby and Diamond Ring by James de Givenchy for Taffin fetched nearly $1.9 million. Set in a micro-pave diamond-set frame by renowned jewelry designer James de Givenchy, nephew of the legendary fashion guru Hubert de Givenchy, the 7.20-ct. ruby boasts the fabulous red color, the rarest and most sought-after of its kind, according to the auction house.

JCK