A 55.22-carat ruby has become both the largest and most valuable gem of its kind ever to sell at auction, netting $34.8 million on Thursday.
The stone went under the hammer in New York in June, less than a year after Canadian firm Fura Gems discovered it at one of the company’s mines in Mozambique.
Ahead of the sale, Sotheby’s described the jewel as “exceedingly rare” and “the most valuable and important” ruby ever to come to market. It was named Estrela de Fura — or Star of Fura in Mozambique’s official language, Portuguese.
Although record gemstone sales are dominated by diamonds — colored ones, in particular — rubies are also considered among 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 $30.3 million in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015.
Estrela de Fura was cut from a rough stone that made headlines when it was unearthed by miners last July. Originally weighing 101 carats, almost twice as much as in its current form, it was the largest gem-quality ruby ever discovered.
The huge stone was cut into a smaller symmetrical shape and polished, processes that remove impurities and enhance the color and brilliance of a gemstone before it is put onto the market. According to Sotheby’s, a report from the Swiss Gemmological Institute said that this had “resulted in vivid red hues due to multiple internal reflections.”
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