The largest ruby ever auctioned established a record in New York on Thursday, selling for $34.8 million. The record selling of the 55.22-carat gem comes months after the jewel was discovered at one of Fura Gems’ mines in Mozambique. When it was discovered, it weighed 101 carats and was the largest gem-quality ruby ever discovered.
The unique ruby was touted as “the most valuable and important” ruby ever to come to market by Sotheby’s, who auctioned it. Estrela de Fura, or Star of Fura, is the name given to the jewel in Mozambique’s national language, Portuguese.
“From the in-depth analysis and study of the stone — through the process of cutting and polishing — we have worked with the utmost care and respect for the ruby, recognizing its importance and stature,” Fura Gems’ founder and CEO Dev Shetty said in a statement.
Quig Bruning, the head of Sotheby’s Jewellery in New York, claimed that the stone justified the record-breaking price because of its unparalleled size, piercing color, and a remarkable degree of optical transparency and clarity. It now joins the ranks of the world’s most renowned jewels.
Ruby is a rosy, blood-red stone that belongs to the mineral corundum, aluminum oxide. The color, clarity, cut, and carat weight of a ruby determine its value. The stone is now available in Mozambique, where it is mined and auctioned off directly to the market. Mozambique’s red rubies have grown quite popular in the American market, despite the fact that rubies are produced in other African nations such as Madagascar, Tanzania, and Kenya.
African rubies come in a variety of colors and can be opaque, translucent, or transparent. The higher the value of a stone, the more transparent it is. The Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59-carat stone unearthed in Myanmar that sold for $30.3 million in Switzerland in 2015, set the previous auction record for a ruby.
