The Blue Moon Diamond sold for a record of $48.26 million

The “Blue Moon” diamond has been sold for a record $48.26 million (48.6 CHF) in Geneva, according to auction house Sotheby’s. The sale price is a record for any gemstone and also per carat, a spokesman said. Sotheby’s describes it as a 12.03-carat fancy vivid blue internally flawless diamond.

It has now been announced that the buyer of the blue diamond, as well as the 16.08 ct cushion-cut Fancy Vivid pink diamond that sold for $28.55m at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction earlier this week, is Hong-Kong based billionaire fugitive Joseph Lau Luen-hung. Lau is listed by Forbes as the sixth richest man in Hong Kong and 114th wealthiest globally, with estimated assets worth US$9.8 billion as of November.

The “Sweet Josephine” diamond sold for &28.55m at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction.

The Blue Moon Diamond - Image courtesy of Sotheby's

The “Blue Moon” diamond has been sold for a record 48.26 million in Geneva – The Fancy Vivid Blue Internally Flawless Diamond is truly a wonder of the world.

“It is a new record price for any gemstone and per carat,” David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s international jewellery division, told a packed showroom in Geneva that erupted into applause.

The Hong Kong buyer promptly renamed both stones after his 7 year old daughter, “The Blue Moon of Josephine”, Bennett told reporters, noting that it had also set a world record for any jewel at more than $4 million per carat.

At rival Christie’s on Tuesday, a large diamond of a rare pink hue fetched 28.725 million Swiss francs ($28.55 million).

Christie’s said that the stone, named “The Sweet Josephine” by the Hong Kong-based Chinese client who bought it, set a world record for any pink diamond ever offered at auction.

Information courtesy of (Sotheby’s, Christies, Reuters)