A collection of rare diamond rings is displayed at Sotheby's in London, England, in this Oct. 22, 2009 photo. (Photo : Getty Images)
A Hong Kong billionaire has spent a record $48.4 million to purchase a 12.03-carat diamond dubbed “Blue Moon” for his auction in Geneva, Switzerland.
Real estate tycoon Joseph Lau, who made headlines earlier this year after being convicted of bribery in Macau, purchased the gem at a Sotheby's auction on Wednesday and immediately renamed it "The Blue Moon of Josephine" after his 7-year-old daughter, his spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.
The sale comes after the day he spent $28.5 million for a rare 16.08-carat pink diamond--the largest of its kind to go under the hammer--from rival auction house Christie's, which he also rechristened as "Sweet Josephine."
"The first was the pink one 'Sweet Josephine' and the second one was the 'Blue Moon of Josephine,'" the spokesperson said.
David Bennett, head of Sotheby's jewelry division, said that the "Blue Moon" sale broke several records, making it "the most expensive diamond, regardless of color, and the most expensive jewel ever sold at auction."
The gem, which is set in a ring, was sold for 48.6 million Swiss francs ($48.4 million), including fees, with a starting bid of 43.2 million Swiss francs.
At 4.02 million Swiss francs per carat, the diamond also fetched the highest-ever price per carat, Bennett added.
The previous record for the most expensive jewel sold at auction was held by the 24.78-carat "Graff Pink" diamond, which was bought for $46.2 million at Sotheby's in Nov. 2010.
This is not the first time Lau has purchased rare jewels for his daughter. In 2009, he reportedly spent $9.5 million on another blue diamond, which he renamed the "Star of Josephine."
Josephine is Lau's daughter with girlfriend and former aide Chan Hoi-wan, according to local media reports. The 64-year-old magnate also has two children with longtime partner Yvonne Lui.
In March 2014, Lau was found guilty of bribing an ex-minister in Macau in an attempt to purchase a prime development site in the region.
Lau, a property developer with a fortune estimated by Forbes to be worth $9.9 billion, was not present in Macau for the sentencing.
He was locked in a telephone bidding war for eight minutes for "Blue Moon" before the bidding closed, with the gemstone staying within its presale estimate of $35-55 million.
The polished blue gem was cut from a 29.6-carat diamond discovered in January last year at Cullinan mine in South Africa, the same mine which also yielded the 530-carat "Star of Africa" blue diamond that is part of the British crown jewels.
Sotheby's said it took five months for experts to conduct an "intense study" of the "Blue Moon" diamond, and a master cutter another three months to craft, cut and polish the stone.
The auction house said in the video that the Cullinan mine was the "only reliable source in the world for blue diamonds," and that only a fraction of those found in the mine contain even a trace of blue coloration.
Blue diamonds are formed when boron mixes with carbon while the gem is being formed.
Experts say the demand for colored diamonds has risen, and both the blue and pink diamonds have garnered a lot of attention in the run up to this week's jewelry auction in Geneva.
