It had a pre-sale estimate of $35 million to $55 million. “So even amongst this extremely rare class of blue diamonds, to get one vivid blue, 12 carats, internally flawless, is really as rare as a ‘blue moon'”. He also spent 65 million Hong Kong dollars ($8.4 million) for a 10.1-carat ruby and diamond brooch at a Christie’s Hong Kong auction.
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Last year, a conviction of bribery and money laundering forced Lau to step down as chairman and cEO of Chinese Estates Holdings of Hong Kong, his flagship real estate development firm.
A spectacular pink diamond, the largest of its kind to ever appear at auction, sold for $28.5 million (26.6 million euros) on Tuesday, narrowly beating auction house Christie’s projection.
At a Sotheby’s Geneva auction In 2009, Lau bought another blue diamond, paying a then-record $9.5 million for the 7.03 carat “Star of Josephine”.
Lau is a controversial figure in Hong Kong not just for his purchases of expensive jewelries.
Experts say the market for coloured diamonds has in recent months become increasingly strong, with both blue and pink diamonds attracting a lot of attention in jewel sales in Geneva. I’ve by no means seen a extra lovely stone – its form, color and purity.
He also has two other children from his previous marriage to Bo Wing-kam. The stone is one of the most exceptional to be found at Cullinan mine, which is considered the most important source of blue diamonds in the world.
Rahul Kadakia, the worldwide Head of Jewellery at Christie’s, told AFP that the stone dubbed “In the Pink” could end up selling for more than $30 million. The diamond is set as a ring, with a double row of pav?-set white diamonds that surround the main stone, and a third row of small pink diamonds underneath.
It was cut and polished in NY, which took six months.
The distinctive blue colour of the gemstone can be attributed to trace amounts of the element boron in the crystal structure.
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“Overall, it was an extraordinary evening”, Bennett said.
