A 55.22-carat ruby has become the largest and most valuable gem ever sold at auction, fetching $34.8 million on Thursday.
The stone went up for auction in New York in June, less than a year after Canadian company Fura Gems discovered it at one of its mines in Mozambique.
Before the sale, Sotheby’s described the gem as an “extremely rare” and “most valuable and important” ruby ever hit the market. It is named Estrela de Fura – or Fura Star in the official language of Mozambique, Portuguese.
Although record gem sales are dominated by diamonds – especially colored ones – rubies are also considered one of the world’s rarest and most valuable gemstones. The previous auction record for a ruby was set by the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59 carat stone found in Myanmar that fetched US$30.3 million in Geneva, Switzerland in 2015.
The Estrela de Fura was cut from a rough rock that was noticed when it was excavated by miners last July. Originally weighing 101 carats, almost double what it is in its present form, it is the largest gem-quality ruby ever discovered.
The giant stone is cut into a smaller symmetrical shape and polished, processes remove impurities and enhance the gem’s color and luminosity before it is released to the market. According to Sotheby’s, a report from the Swiss Gemological Institute states that this has “resulted in a vibrant red color due to multiple internal reflections.”
In a statement, Dev Shetty, founder and CEO of Fura Gems, said stones of such size and quality are “almost unprecedented”.
“From the analysis and in-depth study of the stone — through the cutting and polishing process — we have worked with the utmost care and respect for the ruby, recognizing the importance and its stature,” he added.
Although rubies were first discovered in Mozambique several decades ago, an important industry emerged there only after 2009, when a huge quarry was found near the northern city of Montepuez. Mozambique is currently one of the most efficient ruby mining countries in the world.
Estrela de Fura is among the stones unearthed from the area. Sotheby’s describes it as having “outstanding clarity” and a deep red color known as “pigeon blood” – a color traditionally associated with highly sought-after Burmese rubies.
Quig Bruning, the auction house’s head of jewelry in the Americas, said in a statement that the ruby could help African stones compete with “and even outperform” stones from Myanmar. country formerly known as Burma).
The ruby included in Sotheby’s “Splendid Gems” sale, is marked by a 10.57-carat pink diamond, The Eternal Pink, priced around the same as the Estrela de Fura. The “extremely rare” diamond was described by the auction house as possessing “unparalleled color and luminosity”.
Both gems were displayed in various cities, including Dubai, Singapore and Geneva, before they went on sale in New York.
