April 10 (Bloomberg) -- A 72-carat flawless diamond that Sotheby's withdrew from a Hong Kong auction was sold hours after that in a private transaction, the auction house said.

Several buyers approached Sotheby's staff with offers after the New York-based company pulled the stone from public sale earlier today because the final bid of HK$73 million ($9.4 million) hadn't met the reserve price, said spokesman Matthew Weigman. He declined to identify the buyer or give the final price.

The D-colored pear-shaped diamond, the largest of its type to appear at Asian auctions, had a presale high estimate of HK$100 million. Public bidding for the diamond had been disrupted by buyer confusion over the foreign-exchange conversion for the gem, said Kevin Ching, Sotheby's Hong Kong-based Asia chief executive, in a phone interview earlier today.

Private negotiations began almost immediately after the jewelry auction ended, said Ching.

A D diamond is sometimes called ``ice'' for its top ranking on a scale that measures colorlessness. Sotheby's is still tallying the results of its gem and jewelry sale today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Le-Min Lim in Hong Kong at lmlim@bloomberg.net or

Last Updated: April 10, 2008 11:40 EDT