Christie’s sold 90% of the 447 lots on offer tonight for a total of $52,492,138. Christie’s Rahul Kadakia commented on the star lot of the sale that went for $15,762,500, a per carat record of $1.4m for a blue diamond:

“A world record price was achieved on October 20 for The BVLGARI Blue, a much-celebrated stone that came up for sale at Christie’s for the first time in almost 40 years. It had been purchased at the BVLGARI boutique in Rome in 1972 for just $1 million – the equivalent of $5 million today. With a sold price of $15.7 million, the stone tripled its value in that time, demonstrating the incredible resilience of diamonds in today’s volatile economic environment and the true, lasting value of fine jewelry.”

Most lots in the top ten sold at or above the high estimate. The four top lots were bought by individuals, three of those were Asian. The top of the market remains a store of wealth: