A 12.03-t blue diamond has been auctioned in
Geneva for a record $48.4m (£31.7m) to a Hong
Kong tycoon.
Joseph Lau confirmed he bought the ring-
mounted, cushion-shaped stone for his seven-
year-old daughter, renaming it "Blue Moon of
Josephine" after her.
Auction house Sotheby's said the sale had set
"a new world auction record for any diamond of
any colour".
It is not the first time Lau, a property
billionaire, has bought precious stones for his
daughter.
The businessman - who was convicted of bribery
and money laundering in 2014 - is also confirmed
as the buyer of a 16.08-carat pink diamond,
which Christie's sold for $28.5m on Tuesday.
It has been renamed "Sweet Josephine", a
spokeswoman for Mr Lau told BBC News.
In 2009, he bought another blue diamond for his
daughter - the 7.03-carat "Star of Josephine" -
paying what was then a record $9.5m.
He was sentenced to five years in jail after his
corruption convictions in a Macau court, but has
avoided prison by not visiting the territory.
There is no extradition treaty between Macau
and Hong Kong.
'Beautiful stone'
Sotheby's spokesman David Bennett described
Wednesday's blue diamond as "magical".
"I've never seen a more beautiful stone," he
said.
"The shape, the colour, the purity, it's a
magical stone and everybody, I think, who put
it on their finger thought so."
Two bidders were locked in a telephone bidding
war for eight minutes before the hammer went
down on Wednesday's sale, correspondents say,
with the jewel not exceeding its pre-sale
estimate of $35-$55m.
The diamond was found in South Africa in
January last year and its striking blue colour
is attributed to the presence of the element
boron within its crystal structure.
It was named "Blue Moon" to reflect its rarity.
Experts say the market for coloured diamonds
has become increasingly strong in recent months,
with both blue and pink diamonds attracting a
lot of attention in jewel sales in Geneva.
Coloured diamonds are among the rarest in the
world, even ones that are not particularly vivid
or clear.
The Graff Pink - a 24.78-carat pink diamond
auctioned for $46.2 million in Geneva in 2010 -
was the previous diamond world auction record
holder.
In 2013 a diamond known as the Pink Star was
sold for what was then believed to be a record
breaking $83m (£52m) - also at a Sotheby's
auction in Geneva.
However, the buyer later defaulted on the
purchase, and Sotheby's was forced to buy the
diamond under its auction contract.
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34795005

Chicken change compared to the one I'll buy for my own future daughter.

With all that money, he could have bought Liberia or Benin Republic.