A Hong Kong tycoon has bought the 12.03-carat Blue Moon diamond auctioned at Sotheby’s in Geneva for a record $48.4 million.
Joseph Lau confirmed he bought the ring-mounted, cushion-shaped blue diamond for his 7-year-old daughter, renaming it “Blue Moon of Josephine” after her.
Sotheby’s said the sale had set “a new world auction record for any diamond of any color”.
It is not the first time Joseph Lau, a property billionaire, has bought precious stones for his daughter.
The businessman – who was convicted of bribery and money laundering in 2014 – is also confirmed as the buyer of a 16.08-carat pink diamond, which Christie’s sold for $28.5 million on November 10.
The pink diamond purchased earlier this week has been renamed “Sweet Josephine”, a spokeswoman for Joseph Lau said.
In 2009, Joseph Lau bought another blue diamond for his daughter – the 7.03-carat “Star of Josephine” – paying what was then a record $9.5 million.
The tycoon was sentenced to five years in jail after his corruption convictions in a Macau court, but has avoided prison by not visiting the territory. There is no extradition treaty between Macau and Hong Kong.
Sotheby’s spokesman David Bennett described Blue Moon diamond as “magical”.
“I’ve never seen a more beautiful stone,” he said.
“The shape, the color, the purity, it’s a magical stone and everybody, I think, who put it on their finger thought so.”
Two bidders were locked in a telephone bidding war for eight minutes before the hammer went down on November 11 sale, correspondents say, with the jewel not exceeding its pre-sale estimate of $35-$55 million.
The diamond was found in South Africa in January 2014 and its striking blue color is attributed to the presence of the element boron within its crystal structure.
It was named “Blue Moon” to reflect its rarity.
Experts say the market for colored diamonds has become increasingly strong in recent months, with both blue and pink diamonds attracting a lot of attention in jewel sales in Geneva.
Colored diamonds are among the rarest in the world, even ones that are not particularly vivid or clear.
Rare pink diamond Martian Pink has been auctioned for $17.4 million – far higher than expected – after six minutes of frenzied bidding in Hong Kong.
Auctioneers Christie’s say that the diamond – the biggest of its kind ever to be sold – was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder.
The Martian Pink diamond is extremely rare. Its owner believed it would fetch the best price in Hong Kong.
The diamond had been expected to sell for between $8 million and $12 million.
“The bids were very competitive… there was a lot of excitement… when it finally did come up for sale the buzz in the room was sensational,” said Christie’s auctioneer Rahul Kadakia.
Rare pink diamond Martian Pink has been auctioned for $17.4 million
The 12-carat gem got its name in 1976 when it was sold by US jeweller Harry Winston. It was the same year the US sent a satellite to Mars, and the gem was named for the colour of the planet.
“It comes from Harry Winston, who was so impressed that the Americans had landed on Mars in 1976 that he looked at his inventory and he found a rough diamond which probably could come out as pink,” said Francois Curiel, from Christie’s jewellery department.
“So he cut it, and he cut it in such a way that the intensity of the thing was larger than any of the other things that he had ever cut before.”
The current American owner had wanted the diamond to be sold in Hong Kong, Francois Curiel said.
“He had studied the market pretty well and seen that all the top prices recently were obtained in Hong Kong because of the presence of the Chinese, and several other countries from South East Asia were very, very keen on diamonds,” he said.
The most famous pink diamond in the world belongs to Queen Elizabeth II.
The Williamson Pink was given to the British queen for her wedding in 1947 – the cut, 23.6-carat round stone was later set in a brooch.
Rare pink diamond Martian Pink is expected to fetch at least $8 million when it goes under the hammer in Hong Kong.
The Martian Pink diamond is about 12 carats in size. Pink diamonds as large as this are extremely rare.
The gem was named by famed American jeweller Ronald Winston in 1976, the same year the US sent a satellite to Mars.
The most famous pink diamond in the world belongs to Queen Elizabeth II.
Rare pink diamond Martian Pink is expected to fetch at least $8 million when it goes under the hammer in Hong Kong
The Williamson Pink was given to Queen Elizabeth II for her wedding in 1947 – the cut, 23.6-carat round stone was later set in a brooch.
The Martian Pink is estimated to be worth $8-12 million, says Christie’s auction house.
It is the largest round fancy intense pink diamond to ever go under the hammer, says Christie’s.
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