Some invest in real estate, others in gemstones. The 12.03 carat “Blue Moon” diamond recently sold at auction for more than $48.4 million. The sale, brokered by Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, set a world auction record for any diamond, gem or jewel – it was the first to surpass $4 million per carat, also an auction record.
Estimated to sell between $35 million and $55 million, the Blue Moon diamond was sold to a buyer identified as billionaire, Joseph Lau, from Hong Kong. Lau also paid a record $28.5 million for a 16.08-carat cushion-cut, fancy vivid pink diamond at Christie’s Geneva sale days before the Blue Moon auction. He reportedly named both diamonds after his seven-year-old daughter, Josephine: “The Blue Moon of Josephine” for the blue diamond and “Sweet Josephine” for the pink one.
“The Blue Moon diamond, a Fancy Vivid Blue stone, is a true gift of nature,” said Ehud Laniado, chairman of Cora International, the seller of the Blue Moon. “A jeweler has the chance to handle a unique diamond like this only once in a lifetime if they’re lucky, and we are thrilled at Cora to have had this opportunity.”
There is no other known blue diamond with this combination of size and characteristics. It’s truly one-of-a-kind.
