Billionaire Joseph Lau Bought A $48 Million Blue Moon Diamond; Tycoon Convicted In Macau!
Hong Kong Tycoon Joseph Lau has purchased the world's most expensive diamond called, "The Blue Moon" on Wednesday, according to BBC.
The 12.03-carat blue diamond sold for a whopping $48.4 million, at Sotheby's Geneva Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva, Switzerland.
The cushion-shaped, Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid blue diamond set a world auction record for any gem, jewel or diamond. It is the first to surpass four million dollars per carat.
The buyer has been identified as the owner of Hong Kong's property firm Chinese Estate Holdings.
"Yes, the diamonds were bought by Mr. Joseph Lau for his daughter," his assistant told CNN over the phone.
Lau has renamed the gem, "The Blue Moon of Josephine" and just a day before, at a Christie's auction also in Geneva, the billionaire purchased a 16.08-carat pink diamond for $28.5 million. Joseph named the pink gem "Sweet Josephine."
"The Blue Moon" diamond was discovered in 2014 at the historic Cullinan Mine in South Africa, reveals GIA.
According to the institute, the diamond is an exceptional gem and serves as a rare specimen for scientific study.
The rough gem weighed 29.62 carat and Cora International named it the "Blue Moon" as a tribute to its rarity.
In 2009, Lau bought a 7.03-carat blue diamond for $9.48 million, naming it the "Star of Josephine."
Lau also purchased a 9.75-carat blue diamond for $32.6 million, and called it "The Zoe Diamond," naming it after his other daughter.
He also bought for her a Burmese ruby and diamond brooch for $8.43 million, which weighs 10.10 carats. He named the brooch, "The Zoe Red."
After corruption convictions in a Macau court, Lau was sentenced to five years in jail but has avoided the sentence by not visiting the territory. Macau and Hong Kong do not have an extradition treaty.
Joseph Lau is the one hundred fourteenth richest man in the world, according to Forbes.
