It weighs a hefty 12.03 carats. The color? An exceptionally fancy vivid blue.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the ‘Blue Moon’ diamond sold for a whopping $48.4 million, making it the world’s most expensive diamond.<\/p>\n
According to the auctioneer David Bennett, it is the “highest price per carat” ever obtained for any kind of stone.<\/p>\n
The record sale, which took place at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva, was a headline in itself. But when the successful bidder renamed it, ‘Blue Moon of Josephine’, tongues were set wagging.<\/p>\n
Just a day before, at a Christie’s auction, also in Geneva, an anonymous bidder purchased a 16.08-carat pink diamond, for $28.5 million. He dubbed it, ‘Sweet Josephine.’<\/p>\n
Who is Josephine?<\/strong> CNN confirmed billionaire Joseph Lau, of property firm Chinese Estates Holdings, as the gem’s new owner.<\/p>\n “Yes, the diamonds were bought by Mr. Joseph Lau for his daughter,” his assistant told CNN over the phone.<\/p>\n Trace the journey of one of the world’s largest and rarest diamonds<\/strong><\/p>\n Lau has a track record for naming gems after his daughters, 7-year-old Josephine and 13-year-old Zoe.<\/p>\n Back in 2009, Lau purchased a 7.03-carat blue diamond for $9.48 million. He named it, the ‘Star of Josephine.’<\/p>\n Last November, he purchased a 9.75-carat blue diamond for $32.6 million, calling it ‘The Zoe Diamond’ as well as a Burmese ruby and diamond brooch weighing 10.10 carats for $8.43 million, naming it ‘The Zoe Red.’<\/p>\n Lau is a prolific collector of art and wine, and has a penchant for extravagant gestures. He is the owner of a $17.4 million Andy Warhol portrait of Mao Zedong. He also built Hong Kong’s tallest retail complex and named it ‘The ONE’, reportedly after an ex-girlfriend.<\/p>\n According to Forbes, Lau is the 114th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $9.8 billion.<\/p>\n World records<\/strong> In 2013, Sotheby’s auctioned a pink diamond called the ‘Pink Star’ for $83.2 million, but the buyer ultimately defaulted on the payment. The stone remains in the auction house’s inventory.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It weighs a hefty 12.03 carats. The color? An exceptionally fancy vivid blue. On Wednesday, the ‘Blue Moon’ diamond sold for a whopping $48.4 million, making it the world’s most expensive diamond. According to the auctioneer David Bennett, it is the “highest price per carat” ever obtained for any kind of stone. The record sale, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":166555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[14,7],"yoast_head":"\n
\nAt first, the auction houses only disclosed that it had gone to a “Hong Kong buyer,” but the names of the diamonds provided clues to the purchaser’s true identity.<\/p>\n
\nThe previous record holder for the most expensive diamond was the 24.78-carat Graff Pink, sold by Sotheby’s for $46.2 million in 2010.<\/p>\n