FURA GEMS JUST unveiled “Estrela de Fura,” a rough 101-carat, gem-quality ruby that’s being described as a “once in a century” discovery. The company’s chief executive believes the rough gem, which was unearthed in Mozambique, could eventually yield a faceted stone weighing 50 carats or more.
If that’s true and the quality of the stone is on par with the 25.59-carat, cushion-cut “Sunrise Ruby” that sold at auction in 2015 for $30.4 million, Estrela de Fura (Portuguese for “Star of Fura”) may be worth $50 million or more in its final polished form.
Estrela de Fura will be looking to unseat the Sunrise Ruby, which currently holds two auction records: The largest sum ever paid for a ruby and the highest price-per-carat ever paid for a ruby ($1.19 million).
The international press got its first look at the pigeon-blood-red Estrela de Fura during yesterday’s press conference at the lavish 68-story Almas Tower in Dubai.
Dev Shetty, Fura Gems’ chief executive, told thenationalnews.com how he received a call from the company’s master sorter, Balbir, on July 24. He had unlocked a storage box and spotted something large, red and shiny. The sorter told Shetty, who was in Bangkok at the time, “I think we found something amazing.”
CREDITS: ESTRELA DE FURA IMAGE COURTESY OF FURA GEMS. SCREEN SHOT CLOSEUP VIA TWITTER.COM / FURAGEMS.
