Jewellery sales at Christie's in 2007 were the highest recorded for any auction house, it has emerged.
 
The famed auction house sold approximately $400 million worth of baubles last year - an increase of 11 per cent over 2006, reports Jewellers Circular Keystone.
 
Francois Curiel, Christie's chairman of jewellery, told the magazine: "This year saw many milestones in the jewellery auction market."
 
"The magical barrier of $100,000 per carat was regularly broken for top colourless diamonds, while colour diamonds often sold for over $1 million per carat."
 
The boost in sales has been attributed to the participation of new collectors from Russia, China and the Middle East as well as the increasing numbers of internet bidders.
 
Notable pieces sold in the past 12 months include the $3 million sale of the collection of Princess Maria Gabriella di Savoia, the Baroda Pearls which garnered $7 million and a 22-carat Kashmir sapphire that fetched $3 million - making it the most expensive sapphire in the world.
 
Meanwhile, it was recently reported that a 101-carat, near perfect diamond will go under the hammer at Christie's Hong Kong branch in May.