June 11 (Bloomberg) -- A pear-shaped diamond that had once been owned by Christina Onassis sold today at Christie's International in London for 3.6 million pounds ($7.1 million).

The 38-carat D-color diamond, the centerpiece of a necklace, had been estimated at 1.8 million pounds to 2.2 million pounds, said Christie's. The price includes auction fees. The gemstone was sold to a buyer on the telephone.

It was part of a collection of more than 40 pieces of jewelry being sold by the Onassis family. All of the pieces in the group found buyers above estimate, generating a total of 6.8 million pounds with fees. They had been expected to fetch up to 3 million pounds, said Christie's.

A Carl Faberge semi-precious stone Buddha with a moving head, tongue and arms fetched 1.3 million pounds with fees. It was bought by Moscow collector Alexander Ivanov, who was in the room bidding and spent $17.7 million on a Faberge egg last year.

The c.1900 Buddha, which was owned by Onassis's Greek ship- owner father, Aristotle, had been expected to fetch 350,000 pounds, said Christie's.

Christina Onassis died in Argentina in 1987, aged 37, having been married and divorced four times. Her father kept the Faberge Buddha ``in pride of place'' on the yacht he named after his daughter, said the London-based auction house.

A diamond ring with a pear-shaped stone weighing 14.79 carats that had also been owned by Onassis doubled its low estimate to take 1.1 million pounds.

Onassis Premium

``The Onassis provenance probably added a premium of 30 to 50 percent to the minor things,'' said Christie's London-based jewelry specialist Raymond Sancroft-Baker in a telephone interview. ``But for the major pieces, a diamond is a diamond is a diamond.''

Christie's 228-lot jewelry sale took a total of 15 million pounds with fees, a company record for any such auction in London. Eighty-three percent of the lots found buyers. The presale estimate had been 8 million pounds to 10 million pounds.

To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Reyburn in London at sreyburn@hotmail.com.

Last Updated: June 11, 2008 12:26 EDT