← All 50 obscenities
Lot 4/5 · Jewels & Diamonds2015
#4 Most Expensive
The ItemThe Blue Moon of Josephine

A Hong Kong billionaire bought this diamond for his 7-year-old daughter — one day after buying her another one.

$48,400,000

The Item

Mined from South Africa's Cullinan mine — the same source as several British Crown Jewels — the cushion-shaped stone carries the highest possible color and clarity grades a blue diamond can receive.

It went to auction at Sotheby's Geneva in 2015 as one of the largest internally flawless blue diamonds ever offered.

Why It's Obscene

Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau paid $48.4 million, had it set into a ring, and renamed it after his daughter Josephine.

He did this exactly one day after paying $28.3 million for a separate pink diamond at the same auction house — also for her. Two diamonds, one week, one seven-year-old.

The Blue Moon of JosephineVerified · Public record
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