Diamonds worth €72m are a 7-year-old girl’s best friend

A Hong Kong billionaire convicted of corruption has spent €72 million at auctions in Geneva on two rare coloured diamonds for his seven-year-old daughter.

Joseph Lau was the top bidder for the 12.03-carat Blue Moon diamond that sold on Wednesday night for a record-setting €45 million, a spokeswoman for Mr Lau said.

He was also the buyer of a 16.08-carat vivid pink diamond that sold for €26.6 million Swiss francs auctioned by Christie’s the night before, she added.