Estrela de Fura

Last updated
Estrela de Fura
Type of stoneruby
Weight101 carats (initial), 55.22 carats (final) [1]
Colour Vivid red "pigeon’s blood"
Country of origin Montepuez, Mozambique
DiscoveredJuly 21, 2022
Estimated value$34.8 million

Estrela de Fura is a 55.22-carat ruby, and in its rough shape, is considered amongst the largest gem quality rubies ever mined (101-carat). [2] [3] [4] The stone is characterized by an extremely rare vivid red hue, fluorescence, and clarity. [3] [5] [6] The gem was originally discovered in the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique, and its name is a Portuguese translation derived from Mozambique's official language. Estrela da Fura means "Star of Fura." [5] [7] [1]

Contents

History

The ruby was discovered by Dubai-based FURA Gems in its mine in Mozambique on July 21, 2022. [2] [3] [4]

Before its unveiling and cutting, Daniel Nyfeler, managing director of Gübelin Gem Lab, stated: "the Estrela de Fura ruby is likely to yield an intense, saturated red colour once fully and properly faceted with adequate proportions, is relatively free of eye-visible inclusions. Considering its very large size, the vivid red colour, and clarity characteristics of this ruby give it an extraordinary potential to become one of the largest high-quality faceted rubies ever seen." [3]

On September 4, 2022, Estrela da Fura was unveiled at an event held by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) at the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE). [5]

Cutting

In January 2023, Fura sought the guidance of an international advisors, including French gem company Garaude, SAS and 3D engineers from Bellerophon Gemlab to assess cutting options. Garaude highlighted the rough had tremendous potential as well as significant challenges. [8]

After conducting a series of studies to determine the best weight, shape, and cutting angles, the ruby was cut and polished in Bangkok by the hands of master gem cutter, Chirapat Yingthawiphiphat from Garaude. [8] [9] The outcome resulted in a 55.22-carat ruby. [2] [10] [8]

Sotheby's unveiled the faceted ruby in Hong Kong on April 5, 2023. Subsequently, its worldwide tour included exhibitions in Taipei, China, Singapore, Geneva, and Dubai. [11]

Auction

On June 8, 2023, the "Magnificent Jewels" sale took place in New York, organised by Sotheby's. [2] [1] [6] [10] The ruby was successfully sold for $34.8 million, making it the largest and most expensive ruby ever to be auctioned. [7] [1] [6] [10]

The bidding started at $21 million, and an anonymous telephone bidder acquired it for an additional $9 million, plus fees and commissions. [12]

Sotheby's auction house officially declared the Estrela de Fura as the most valuable and significant ruby ever offered for sale, emphasising its rarity and uniqueness. [1]

Previously, the auction record for a ruby was held by the "Sunrise Ruby," a 25.59-carat gemstone discovered in Myanmar, which achieved a sale price of $30.3 million in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015. [2] [7] [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapphire</span> Gem variety of corundum

Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived from the Latin word sapphirus, itself from the Greek word sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on the locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third-hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby</span> Variety of corundum, mineral, gemstone

Ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum. Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires. Ruby is one of the traditional cardinal gems, alongside amethyst, sapphire, emerald, and diamond. The word ruby comes from ruber, Latin for red. The color of a ruby is due to the element chromium.

The Pink Star, formerly known as the Steinmetz Pink, is a diamond weighing 59.60 carats, rated in color as Fancy Vivid Pink by the Gemological Institute of America. The Pink Star was mined by De Beers in 1999 in South Africa, and weighed 132.5 carats in the rough. The Pink Star is the largest known diamond having been rated Vivid Pink. As a result of this exceptional rarity, the Beny Steinmetz Group called Steinmetz Diamonds took a cautious 20 months to cut the Pink. It was unveiled in Monaco on 29 May 2003 in a public ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premier Mine</span> Diamond mine in South Africa

The Premier Mine is an underground diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds in the town of Cullinan, 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Established in 1902, it was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in November 2003 in celebration of its centenary. The mine is a carrot-shaped volcanic pipe and has a surface area of 32 hectares. The mine rose to prominence in 1905, when the Cullinan Diamond – the largest rough diamond of gem quality ever found – was discovered there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Winston</span> American jeweler (1896–1978)

Harry Winston was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade. He also traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963 in exchange for 3,800 carats of small diamonds.

Graff is a British multinational jeweller based in London. It was founded by British jeweller Laurence Graff in 1960. A vertically integrated company, Graff operations comprise the design, manufacture and retail distribution of jewellery and watches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patiala Necklace</span> Diamond necklace

The Patiala Necklace was a necklace designed and made by Cartier in 1928. It was part of the largest ever single order to Cartier to date, made in 1925 by the Indian royal, the Maharaja of Patiala, for the Patiala Necklace and other jewelry worth ₹1,000 million.

The Woyie River diamond was recovered on 6 January 1945 from the Woyie River near Koidu in eastern Sierra Leone. The uncut stone weighed 770 carats (154 g), and at that time it was the largest alluvial diamond ever found, and the third largest diamond discovered in Africa, after the Cullinan Diamond and the Excelsior Diamond. The alluvial Star of Sierra Leone, discovered at the Diminco mine in Sierra Leone in 1970, is larger at 968.9 carats (193.78 g) uncut.

Gemfields Group Ltd is a British mining company incorporated in Guernsey and headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and is a supplier of coloured gemstones. The company specializes in the mining, processing and sale of coloured gemstones, in particular emeralds and rubies. The group sells rough, uncut gemstones and does not operate any cutting and polishing facilities. The company owns the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique. Gemfields produces around 25% of the world's emerald supply and around 50% of the world's ruby supply.

The Princie Diamond is an approximately 34.65-carat cushion-cut fancy intense pink diamond discovered 300 years ago in the Golconda mines. Christie's say that the Princie Diamond is believed to be the fourth largest pink diamond in the world, after the Daria-i-Noor, the Noor-ol-Ain - which are both part of the Iranian Crown Jewels; both were cut, according to experts, from one single c. 242-carat pink diamond, - and the Pink Star, a diamond weighing 59.60 carats.

The Winston Blue is the name given to what was the largest flawless vivid blue diamond bought by Harry Winston, Inc. on May 15, 2014, from an anonymous person for $23.8 million at Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale. The approximately $1.8003 million per carat price paid for the 13.22-carat diamond is a world record for a blue diamond. Harry Winston, Inc. had also bought a 101.73-carat colorless diamond named Winston Legacy at Christie's Geneva jewelry auction in 2013. The American luxury jeweler had then paid $26.7 million for the colorless diamond, which is a world record for the highest price paid per carat for a colorless diamond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunrise Ruby</span> 25.59-carat ruby from Myanmar

The Sunrise Ruby has been the world's most expensive ruby, most expensive coloured gemstone, and most expensive gemstone other than a diamond until the discovery of the Estrela de Fura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesedi La Rona</span> 4th largest diamond, found 2015

Lesedi La Rona, formerly known in media as Karowe AK6 or as Quad 1 by the personnel at the mine, is the fifth-largest diamond ever found, and the third-largest of gem quality. It was found in the Karowe mine, in Botswana on 16 November 2015.

The Aurora Green Diamond is a 5.03-carat (1.006 g) vivid green diamond with VS2 clarity. In May 2016, the Aurora Green became the largest vivid green diamond to ever sell at auction. The record was previous held by a 2.54 carat Fancy Vivid Green VS1 diamond that was sold by Sotheby’s on November 17, 2009, for $1.22 million per carat according to the Diamond Investment & Intelligence Center. On May 31, 2016, the diamond, which was originally owned by Scarselli Diamonds was sold by Christie's for a record price per carat of $3.3 million to Chinese jewelry company Chow Tai Fook, totaling $16.8 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink diamond</span> Type of diamond that has pink color

Pink diamond is a type of diamond that has pink color. The source of their pink color is greatly debated in the gemological world but it is most commonly attributed to plastic deformation that these diamonds undergo during their formation.

Karowe diamond mine is a mine located in Botswana. It is an open-pit mine. In 2021, Lucara Diamond secured $220 million to take the mine underground.

FURA Gems is a private global mining company that produces colored gemstones: emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Founded in 2017 FURA has its headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and operates mining subsidiaries in Colombia, Mozambique, and Australia. In 2021, the company managed approximately six million carats of Mozambican rubies and 300,000 carats of Colombian emeralds. In 2022, FURA Gems unveiled the world's largest gem-quality ruby ever mined, which was sold by Sotheby's for $34.8 million in 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holland, Oscar (2023-06-08). "Largest ruby ever to come to auction sells for record-breaking $34.8 million". CNN. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Estrela de Fura Ruby could shatter the $30m Record at Auction". Collector Mag. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Dubai firm Fura brings out 101-carat ruby, said to be world's largest such 'gem-quality' stone mined". gulfnews.com. 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  4. 1 2 Cohen, Howard (2022-09-26). "101-Carat Ruby Is 'Once-in-a-Century' Find". INSTOREMAG.COM. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  5. 1 2 3 "Meet "Estrela De Fura": The World's Largest Red Rough Ruby is Unveiled". Israeli Diamond Industry. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  6. 1 2 3 "World's largest gem-quality ruby, the 55.22 carat Estrela de FURA, fetches record $ 34.8 million at Sotheby's auction - The Retail Jeweller India". 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  7. 1 2 3 "Video: World's priciest ruby - Estrela De Fura - from Dubai's Fura Gems gets sold for $34.8m in New York". gulfnews.com. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  8. 1 2 3 Lankarani, Nazanin (2023-07-02). "When It Comes to Rubies, Is Mozambique the New Star?". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  9. ↑ Singh, Marisha (2023-05-22). "World's largest ruby, most vivid pink diamond unveiled" . Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  10. 1 2 3 Brough, David (2023-06-09). "RUBY NEWS - Estrela de Fura sets world record for ruby sold at auction, at USD 34.8 million ". Jewellery Outlook. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  11. ↑ "World's Largest Ruby, Estrela De FURA 55.22, Unveiled at Sotheby's in Hong Kong, Embarks on a World Tour". INSTOREMAG.COM. 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  12. ↑ "World's Largest Ruby Sells for Record USD 34.8 Million in New York Auction". News18. 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.