A dazzling diamond ring has auctioned for £16,250 ($25,437) at Bonhams London, leading the auction house's sale of fine jewellery.

The brilliant cut diamond ring sold with a strong 8.3% increase on its £15,000 top estimate.

Bidders flooded to Bonhams’ Knightsbridge saleroom, where four diamond lots proved the most sought after - including this £16,250 piece

A pair of diamond earrings, an art deco diamond panel bracelet and a second, single stone diamond ring also proved very popular among bidders.

The brilliant cut diamond earrings sold for £13,750 ($21,520), the circa 1925 art deco bracelet made £13,125 ($20,545) and the step cut, single stone diamond ring brought £11,875 ($18,591).

May 2013 saw two important jewellery auctions take place in quick succession. The sale of actress Gina Lollobrigida's jewellery totalled $5m on May 14, while the following day, world famous jewellery firm Harry Winston acquired a fresh-to-the-market $26.7m, 73-carat, colourless diamond that it subsequently named Harry Legacy in honour of its founder.

A circa 1925 art deco bracelet made £13,125 ($20,545) at Bonhams

Following the sale of the Harry Legacy diamond, Harry Winston's newly appointed chief executive, Nayla Hayek commented: "Diamond's are still a girl's best friend."

The value of polished diamonds varies in accordance with cut, clarity, colour and carat. Unlike precious metals, there is no universal price per gram for diamonds.

In 2012, however, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a patent on the process used to identify investment-grade diamonds - those which might be used to broker financial deals or bought for investment purposes. The patent suggests that diamonds could soon be considered a publicly traded asset.

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