A rare blue diamond sold for a record-breaking $48.5 million. A Hong Kong billionaire is giving it to his 7-year-old.

Blue diamond ring.
(Image credit: MSN/Twitter)

One lucky 7-year-old now has two rare, colored diamonds named after her — one of which holds the world auction record for the most expensive diamond ever sold. Hong Kong billionaire real estate tycoon Joseph Lau broke records Wednesday night when he snatched up the 12.03-carat "Blue Moon" diamond and a 16.08-carat pink diamond. They sold for a combined $77 million at separate auctions in Geneva.

Lau promptly renamed the stones "The Blue Moon of Josephine" and "Sweet Josephine" respectively; they were both gifts for his young daughter, a spokesperson told CBC.

The Blue Moon of Josephine is thought to be one of the largest vivid blue diamonds in the world, and it smashed previous diamond records when Lau purchased it for about $48.5 million. "The Graff Pink," the previous record holder, sold for $46.2 million five years ago.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Lau is known for buying jewels for his daughters, with his 13-year-old daughter Zoe loaning her name to the 9.75-carat blue "Zoe Diamond" and the 10.1-carat ruby and diamond brooch, the "Zoe Red." Josephine holds another diamond to her name, too — the 7.03-carat Star of Josephine.

Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.