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