The largest and most expensive ruby of its kind to ever sold at auction, a 55.22-carat specimen brought in $34.8 million on Thursday. Less than a year after being found in one of the company's mines in Mozambique by Canadian firm Fura Gems, the stone was put up for auction in New York in June. Sotheby's referred to the gem as "exceedingly rare" and "the most valuable and important" ruby to have hit the market before the auction. It was referred to as Estrela de Fura, or Star of Fura, in Portuguese, which is the national language of Mozambique.
Even though coloured diamonds in particular dominate record gemstone sales, rubies are also regarded as among the rarest and most expensive gemstones in the world. The Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59-carat stone discovered in Myanmar that cost $30.3 million in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015, broke the previous auction record for a ruby. The rough stone from which Estrela de Fura was carved grabbed headlines when it was discovered by miners in July of last year. It was the biggest gem-quality ruby ever discovered, weighing 101 carats at its discovery, almost twice as much as it does now.
Before being sold, a gemstone must be polished, cut into a smaller, symmetrical shape, and cleaned to eliminate impurities and enhance its colour and brightness. The Swiss Gemmological Institute's analysis, according to Sotheby's, stated that this had "resulted in vivid red hues due to multiple internal reflections." Dev Shetty, the founder and CEO of Fura Gems, stated in a statement that stones of this size and calibre are "almost unheard of." "We have worked with the utmost care and respect for the ruby, recognising its importance and stature," he continued. "From the process of cutting and polishing through the process of in-depth analysis and study of the stone."
Despite the fact that Mozambique was where rubies were originally discovered many years ago, a big business didn't start to develop there until 2009 when a sizable deposit of the stones was discovered close to the northern city of Montepuez. One of the most successful nations in the world now for mining rubies is Mozambique. Among the stones found in the area was Estrela de Fura. It was characterised as having "outstanding clarity" by Sotheby's and a "pigeon's blood" colour, which is more frequently connected to highly prized Burmese rubies.
Quig Bruning, the head of jewellery for the Americas at the auction house, said in a statement that the ruby may enable African stones to rival and perhaps surpass those from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). The 10.57-carat pink diamond, The Eternal Pink, which commanded the same price as Estrela de Fura, was the star of Sotheby's "Magnificent Jewels" auction. The auction house hailed the "ultra-rare" diamond as having "unparalleled colour and brightness." Before being purchased in New York, both precious stones were displayed in a number of places, including Dubai, Singapore, and Geneva.
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