Joseph Lau a tycoon in Hong Kong just made his 7-year-old daughter the envy of gem collectors everywhere! An extremely rare 12.03-carat “Blue Moon” diamond was auctioned off in Geneva for a record $48.4m for Daddy’s little girl. Renaming it “Sweet Josephine” it’s striking blue color is due to the presence of the element boron within its crystal structure.

The diamond was found January last year in South Africa. The ring-mounted, cushion-shaped stone is more than stunning. Sotheby’s Auction house said the sale had set “a new world auction record for any diamond of any color.”

This generous father and property billionaire has bought other precious stones for his daughter. He is also the confirmed  buyer of a 16.08-carat pink diamond which on Tuesday, Christie’s sold for $28.5m. In 2009, he bought the Star of Josephine”. This 7.03-karat blue diamond was also for his daughter and bought for a then record of $9.5m.

In 2014, Lau was convicted of money laundering and bribery. He was sentenced to five years in prison after corruption convictions in a Macau court.  Since there is no extradition treaty between Macau and Hong Kong, he has avoided prison by not visiting the territory.

Image thanks to BBC.com/Sothebys