Sourcing

See the 101-Carat Rough Ruby With Record-Setting Potential

SourcingSep 15, 2022

See the 101-Carat Rough Ruby With Record-Setting Potential

Mined by Fura Gems in Mozambique, experts say the stone could yield a high-quality ruby that’s over 50 carats.

20220915_Estrela-de-Fura.jpg
Fura Gems unveiled “Estrela de Fura,” a 101-carat rough ruby from Mozambique, on Wednesday.
Dubai—Fura Gems has found quite the ruby. 

On Wednesday, the colored gemstone stone miner unveiled a 101-carat rough ruby mined in Mozambique, dubbed the “Estrela de Fura,” or Star of Fura in Portuguese. 

It has a vivid red hue, fluorescence, and high clarity, according to the company. 

Fura said it believes the stone to be the largest gem-quality ruby on record. 

The company noted that while larger rubies larger do exist in a few collections worldwide, they are specimen or exhibition pieces with “significant impurities or low cutting yield.” They are not considered gem-quality crystals comparable to the Estrela de Fura.

“The Estrela de Fura ruby is likely to yield an intense, saturated red color once fully and properly faceted with adequate proportions,” said Gübelin Gem Lab Managing Director Daniel Nyfeler. 

“Compared to most rubies, including those from Burma, which tend to be fairly included when reaching sizes above 5 carats, this ruby is relatively free of eye-visible inclusions. Considering its very large size, the vivid red color and clarity characteristics of this ruby give it an extraordinary potential to become one of the largest high-quality faceted rubies ever seen.” 

Adolf Peretti, owner and CEO of GRS GemResearch Swisslab, noted: “This ruby shows characteristics normally encountered only in the classical Mogok mines of Burma. It possesses a fluorescence and vivid red color and even excels in its excellent clarity. 

“Estrela de Fura provides the potential to achieve the new world record of being the finest gem-quality ruby ever found, with a size of over 50 carats once it goes through the final cutting process.” 

Fura Gems unveiled the stone at an event Wednesday hosted at the diamond exchange at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre.

It will be on display in Dubai for a month by appointment only and will then go up for private auction in October. 

Fura said it will allocate 2 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the stone to setting up the Fura Training Academy to support the area where it operates in Mozambique through education on mining, carpentry, engineering, and agriculture. 

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