A diamnod sold more than $9.9 million

Some of the world's most exquisite gems have new owners Tuesday after Sotheby's spring auction in Geneva.

The semi-annual sale netted more than $54 million, nearly double the low end of the pre-sale estimate.

The top lot was a blue, cushion shaped diamond ring that weighs seven-point-64 carats, set in a gold and platinum ring.

It sold for more than $9.9 million, double its estimate and a record per carat price for a blue diamond.

Experts suggest the high prices paid at this sale are a sign the international market for gems has recovered from the global economic crisis.

DeBourcy slipped a 2-carat diamond ring onto her finger

A Manhattan man is said to have used an upper East Side jeweller's display window to arrange a floral wedding proposal for his girlfriend.Tom DeBourcy, 26, had arranged for flowers and a "Will you marry me Alexandra?" sign to be displayed at the window of Jeri Cohen Fine Jewelry on Third Ave., and for his girlfriend to see it as they strolled by.


"Oh, my God, it is beautiful," the New York Daily News quoted Alex Routenberg, also 26, as saying, as DeBourcy slipped a 2-carat diamond ring onto her finger.

The two had both attended the same high school outside of Chicago, but didn't meet until he used the alumni connection to contact her on Facebook.

"I asked who the hell he was, and two and a half years later ...," she said.

Routenberg, a fan of "The Real Housewives of New York", said she was tickled by the store's connection to the reality TV show.

"I always walk by and say to my mom, 'This is the place where Jill Zarin goes!'," she said.

"This is the greatest idea you ever had!" she told her fiance.

"Well, maybe [after] Facebooking me," she added.