Watch: World’s largest gem-quality ruby Estrela de Fura 55.22 embarks on world tour

New York: The world’s largest and most valuable ruby to ever appear at auction will star in the Magnificent Jewels sale in New York on June 8.

Estrela de Fura 55.22 is expected to fetch over $30 million.

It was in September 2022 when Fura Gems unearthed the world’s largest gem-quality ruby ever discovered - weighing an astonishing 101 carats - from their ruby mine in Montepeuz, Mozambique, and unveiled it in Dubai’s Almas Towers. Now, seven months later, following an initial series of studies of the 101 carat rough crystal to determine cutting options, the stone has been cut and polished by a team of experts - with the rough transformed into a cushion-shaped stone, further enhancing the gemstone’s clarity and vivid red hue.

Weighing a whopping 55.22 carats, Estrela de Fura is the largest gem-quality ruby to ever come to auction – more than double the size of The Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59 carat Burmese Ruby, which sold for $30.3 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2015 and still holds the world auction record for a ruby.

“It is undoubtedly positioned to become the standard bearer for African rubies - and gemstones in general, bringing global awareness to their ability to be on par with, and even outshine, those from Burma, which have traditionally been the most desirable and recognizable source for rubies,” said Quig Bruning, Head of Sotheby’s Jewelry, Americas.

Its combination of rich saturation of color, untouched by heat treatment, highly crystalline appearance and incomparable size that places Estrela de Fura 55.22 as the most valuable and important ruby ever to come to market. “Rubies of this importance and magnitude are exceedingly rare, making the appearance of the present gem a landmark event in itself,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.

After the stone’s grand unveiling at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, it will then embark on a worldwide tour, with exhibitions scheduled in Taipei, China, Singapore, Geneva and Dubai (in May, alongside the Pink diamond we announced last week) before it stars in Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York on 8 June.

“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,” said Dev Shetty, Founder and CEO of Fura Gems. Witnessing the completion of Estrela de Fura 55.22 was a monumental achievement for all of us, and we are excited that a new page in the story of this incredible gem and Mozambican rubies is about to be written with Sotheby’s.”