The Hong Kong based real estate billionaire Joseph Lau has, for the second time this week, set a gemstone related record. First, Lau bought a 16.08 carat vivid pink diamond for $28.5 million from Christies, beating the auction sale record for a pink stone. Ever the insatiable collector, he then snapped up the Blue Moon diamond for a cool $48.5 million at a Sothebys’ auction in Geneva the next day. Coming in at over $4 million per carat, the second sale set the record for any gem sold at auction.
Both of the stones were purchased for his 7-year-old daughter Josephine, with the rocks being renamed the “Sweet Josephine” and the “Blue Moon of Josephine” respectively. This is part of a pattern of buying, as Joseph bought Josephine a 7.03 carat blue diamond in 2009 for $9.5 million (since renamed the “Star of Josephine”), and his daughter Zoe a 9.75 carat blue diamond in 2014 for $32.6 million (the “Zoe Diamond”). The latter was also the recipient of a Cartier brooch featuring a 10.1 carat ruby now known as the “Zoe Red,” which cost $8.4 million.
Lau has had plenty of time on his hands since he was forced to take a backseat in his real estate business. Corruption charges which were lodged in Macau by the government there stated that Mr. Lau had bribed the chief of public works with HKD$20 million – a drop in the hat compared with his auction spending. The charges were upheld in 2014-5 following numerous appeals. He has so far managed to avoid extradition due to a lack of a treaty between Hong Kong and Macau.
Having spent a combined $77 million, this has has certainly been an expensive week for Mr. Lau, and a banner month for at least two major auction houses.
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