The 55.22-carat Estrela de FURA.
The largest ruby in the world will be put up for sale on June 8 at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels in New York. The jewel is named Estrela de FURA and weighs around 55.22 carats. The estimated price of more than $30 million (approximately Rs 245 crore) set by Sotheby's, if met, would probably make it the most expensive ruby ever sold at auction, as per a report in CNN.
Sotheby's referred to the gem as "exceedingly rare" and "the most valuable and important" ruby to ever hit the market when announcing the sale on Wednesday. The stone, known as Estrela de FURA (or Star of Fura in Portuguese), is anticipated to sell for "in excess of" $30 million, according to the auction house.
The sale was announced by Uni Kim after completing The Exceptional Luxury Evening Auction in Hong Kong.
According to the outlet, the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59-carat stone discovered in Myanmar that sold for $30.3 million in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015, established the previous record for a ruby at auction and became on of the most expensive ruby ever sold.
The rough stone from which Estrela de FURA was carved made headlines when it was first discovered by miners in July last year. It was the largest gem-quality ruby ever found, weighing 101 carats, almost twice as much as it does now. Prior to being sold, the huge stone was polished, which removed impurities and improved its colour and brilliance. According to a report from Sotheby's citing the Swiss Gemmological Institute, this process "resulted in vivid red hues due to multiple internal reflections".
Even with its rough texture, the ruby "was considered by experts as an exceptional treasure of nature for its fluorescence, outstanding clarity and vivid red hue, known as 'pigeon's blood'- a colour traditionally associated only with Burmese rubies," the auction house said in a statement.