Best dad ever gifts 7-year-old daughter $77M in diamonds

A Hong Kong businessman just dropped a record-breaking $48.5 million on a rare, 12.03-carat blue diamond for his 7-year-old daughter.

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

Lau was locked in a telephone bidding war for eight minutes for “Blue Moon” before the hammer went down, with the precious jewel staying within its pre-sale estimate of US$35-55 million.

Lau also purchased this 16.08-carat vivid pink diamond for $28.5 million, naming it “Sweet Josephine”.

Apparently, the property tycoon Lau seems to be obsessed with two things – his daughter and diamonds.

The Blue Moon – named in reference to its rarity, playing off the expression “once in a blue moon” – topped the previous record of 46.2 million dollars (£30.4 million) set five years ago by the Graff Pink, Sotheby’s said.

This is not the first time Lau has bought rare jewels for his daughter.

Among other lots, a world record was set for a fancy orangey pink diamond. One was a 9.75-carat blue diamond that he named “Zoe Diamond” after buying it for about $33 million at a Sotheby’s auction in NY. However, he remains free because Macau and Hong Kong have no extradition treaty. He specified the price as $48,468,158.

The sixth-richest man in Hong Kong, Lau is also a wanted man in Macau, a semi-autonomous province in China, where he is due to serve a five-year jail sentence for money laundering, corruption and attempting to bribe a former minister.

“Blue, for me, is the most mysterious and magical of all the colours of diamond, and the Blue Moon will now take its place among the most famous gems in the world”.

After the sale, Mr Bennett added: “I am absolutely delighted with this evening’s record result – this show-stopping blue diamond surely is a once-in-a-lifetime stone”. It took three more months to bring the Blue Moon diamond to its ultimate spectacular shape using advanced technology and sophisticated tools.