A rare pink diamond that is regarded as one of the most desirable and beautiful in the world was sold at an auction in Switzerland for a record $46.16 million, smashing previous auction records for the sale of any single diamond or jewel, Sotheby’s said.

Sotheby’s had valued the 24.78 carat Fancy Intense Pink diamond mounted on a ring at $27 million to $38 million ahead of the sale in a luxury lakeside hotel.

But intense bidding wiped out the record of over $24 million set during an auction in December 2008 in the sale of a grey-blue diamond Wittelsbach.

“At 40.50 million francs, the world record price. Selling it. Sold,” said the auctioner, to applause as he brought down the hammer.

The final price of over $46 million includes the hammer price and the commission.

Sotheby’s said the buyer is Laurence Graff, a London-based diamond dealer.

David Bennett, chairman for Europe and the Middle East at Sotheby’s international jewellery department, had called the pink jewellery “one of the purest diamonds”.

The “flawless” emerald-cut gemstone, which forms the centrepiece of the 500 lots in Sotheby’s auctions of rare and precious jewellery, is rated among a type that accounts for just two percent of diamonds.

It was last seen on the market about 60 years ago when it was sold by legendary US jeweller Harry Winston and kept in a private collection since then, a feature that is adding to its value.

“It’s very wearable and the perfect size,” said Mr Bennett.

“It’s a stone that has huge character and appeal.”

Mr Bennett told journalists that pink diamonds are prized by collectors and the trade since they were discovered in India.

Other lots sold have historic celebrity value, including jewellery that belonged to Cristina Onassis, Cristina Ford, wife of Henry Ford II, grandson of the founder of the Ford Motor Company, as well as items that belonged to Abbas Hilmi II (1874-1944), the last Khedive or viceroy of Egypt and Sudan.