How Joseph Lau’s US$48m diamond rates against five other big rocks
When the fugitive Hong Kong billionaire slapped down what for most of us is a huge sum for the 12-carat 'Blue Moon' at an auction this week, it had us wondering who else has been splashing out on rare diamond jewellery
The Mouawad L’Incomparable
Named the most expensive necklace by Guinness World Records, the Mouawad L’Incomparable is valued at £37.7 million. The necklace sparkles with 103 diamonds which altogether weigh 637 carats.
Named after the company which created it, the necklace features the world’s largest internally flawless diamond, the 407.48-carat Incomparable. The diamond was discovered by a girl in a rubble pile in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in West Africa in the 1980s.
After being passed among several dealers and traders, the diamond underwent four years of studying and cutting.
SEE ALSO: Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau spends US$48m on ‘Blue Moon Diamond’
The Pink Star
This 59.6-carat flawless oval diamond mounted on a ring measuring 2.69 cm by 2.06 cm, and was auctioned by Sotheby’s for a massive £52 million in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 2013. However, after the buyer defaulted, Sotheby reacquired the diamond.
The Graff Pink
This 24.78-carat pink diamond, one of the few flawless diamonds in the world, was sold for £31.6 million to the British billionaire jeweller Laurence Graff in 2010. He named it “The Graff Pink”. Graff ‘s fortune has been built on serving a clientele including the Sultan of Brunei, various royal families, Donald Trump, David and Victoria Beckham, and Oprah Winfrey.
The Diamond Bikini
Designed by Susan Rosen, this creation features 150 carats of diamonds set in platinum. The most expensive item of clothing ever made rocketed the American designer to fame when Sports Illustrated model Molly Sims wore it in 2006. Tiger Woods bought the bikini for a reported US$30 million.
The Wittelsbach-Graff diamond
This piece started out as a 35.56-carat deep blue diamond and featured among both the Austrian and Bavarian crown jewels. In 2008, London jeweller Laurence Graff bought the stone for U$23.4 million and then altered it – a move that infuriated other jewellers. Graff removed nearly 4.5 carats from the blue diamond, but in the process enhanced its clarity – and its value.
