This Colored Diamond Ring Crushed Auction Estimates, Selling for $3.7 Million

A diamond ring featuring two colored stones was so nice, it sold for just about twice its high estimate.

The Mouawad “Toi et Moi” ring hammered down for an impressive £3 million ($3.7 million) during the Bonhams London Jewels sale on Thursday. Featuring a five-carat radiant-cut fancy intense blue diamond next to a 5.1-carat radiant-cut fancy purple-pink diamond, the ring was expected to achieve just £1 million to £1.5 million ($1.3 million to $1.9 million).

“London Jewels showcased best in class examples from every era, including Kashmir sapphires, certificated diamonds, and many grades of exceptional coloured diamonds,” Jennifer Tonkin, the co-head of Bonhams’s jewelry department in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. “We are absolutely delighted that the results of the sale reflected the quality of the exceptional pieces on offer, and proud to have achieved such a strong result for the enchanting ring by Mouawad.”

A fair number of the 113 lots on offer similarly smashed expectations: A ring with a 7.1-carat Burmese ruby and 2.7 carats of diamonds crossed the block for £216,300 ($274,300), three times its pre-sale estimate. And a Belle Époque Marcus & Co. brooch from around 1895 went home for £165,500 ($209,900), well above the estimate of £60,000 to £80,000 ($76,100 to $101,500). The enamel pin is adorned with pearls, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires.

While the Mouawad ring was by far the most desirable and expensive lot on offer, the second-highest sale was a diamond fringe necklace from around 1950. That piece—which includes graduating baguette and brilliant-cut diamonds, with a fringe of brilliant and marquise-cut diamonds leading to pear-shaped diamond drops—sold for a healthy £254,400 ($322,600). Many other of the top lots fetched £165,500 ($209,900), including a diamond riviere, a diamond and colored diamond ring, and an Art Deco diamond sautoir. (All three of those pieces beat their high estimate as well.)

In total, the Bonhams London Jewels auction made a whopping £6.6 million, or $8.4 million. The sale was 78 percent sold through by lot, and 99 percent sold by value. With the selection of jewelry on offer, and the beautiful gems on display, the buyers must be feeling pretty lucky that they got to go home with the assorted accessories.