While the high profile marriage of Kim Kardashian and NBA player Kris Humphries was short-lived, the money for the engagement ring was definitely long.

The 20-carat engagement ring, which was the last surviving remnant of the infamous 72-day marriage has made headlines yet again. But it has nothing to do with wedding bells. Its strictly a business transaction this time around.

On Tuesday, the Lorraine Schwartz custom design was auctioned by Christie’s Auction House of New York at Rockefeller Plaza.

The custom design, which features a cut-cornered rectangular-cut diamond, is set with shield-shaped diamonds mounted in platinum. The bidding opened at $200,000 and swelled to a selling price of $620,000.

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After the Christie Auction seller’s fees were calculated into the auction price, the total cost came to approximately $749,000. Although $749,000 is a whopping price to pay for a rare diamond, it still does the ring little justice. According to Christie’s Auction catalog, the price realized is a jaw-dropping estimate of $1.3 million.

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So in a nutshell, the ring actually sold for only half of its retail value, but the closing sale price did exceed expectations. Auction analysts predicted a pre-auction sale price of only $300,000 to $500,000. A portion of the proceeds from the auction sale will also be designated for charitable donation.

Kardashian returned the ring to Humphries over a year ago. After a long drawn-out separation that lasted more than a year, their divorce was finalized in June.
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Image via Celebuzz | Kim Kardashian