Cullinan diamond is named

London, England — MININGREVIEW.COM — 21 May 2009 – The 7.03-carat fancy vivid blue, internally flawless, cushion-shaped diamond – which was sold at auction by Sotheby’s last week for a new world record price, was acquired by renowned Hong Kong collector and connoisseur Mr. Joseph Lau Luen-Hung.

Announcing this here, Petra Diamonds Limited confirmed that Mr Lau had bought the diamond for HK$74 million (US$9.48 million), and that he had already exercised his right to name the diamond, which is now known as ‘Star of Josephine’.

The exceptional blue diamond set two auction records at Sotheby’s Geneva on 12 May – the world record price per carat for any gemstone at auction, and world record price for a fancy vivid blue diamond at auction.

The blue diamond ranks among the most important diamonds ever to be offered for sale by Sotheby’s. It was cut from a 26.58 carat rough discovered in 2008 at Petra Diamonds’ historic Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa, the world’s most consistently reliable source of blue diamonds.