Asterism is the star of the show, quite literally. The Star of India is a star sapphire; meaning it is a rather large cabochon (shaped and polished instead of cut) gem that presents a luminous star shape on the surface of the stone. This gem in particular weighs a hefty 563.35 carats (112.67 g) and exhibits the star on both sides. It hails from the mines of Sri Lanka and has made a rather adventurous journey from the moment it was discovered up to the day it was finally safe in the showcase of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, owing to the heist that the gem was a part of in 1964.

Star of Adam

(The Star of Adam; image courtesy of Dailymail UK)

This oval beauty weighs a whopping 1,404.49 carats (280.898 g; 9.9084 oz.) and the estimated cost comes up to a figure between US$ 175 million and $300 million. This cabochon also has a star, six rayed and easily visible to the naked eye. The Star of Adam originated in the mines of Sri Lanka in a place called Ratnapur. It was named after Adam who the Muslims believe went to Sri Lanka and lived on Adam’s Peak after exiting the Garden of Eden and is currently in the possession of an anonymous buyer.

Star of Bombay

(The Star of Bombay; image courtesy of Flickr)

A gift of love from one star to another, the Star of Bombay was purchased by Douglas Fairbanks, a silent movie actor from Trabert & Hoeffer Inc. in New York. The Star of Bombay was a stone that weighed 182 carats (36.4-g) and was set in a ring made of platinum that Mr. Fairbanks presented to Mary Pickford; also a silent film actress. It is a violet-blue in colour owing to the presence of titanium and iron and is apparently the namesake of Bombay Sapphire which is a British manufactured gin. On her death, the ring was donated to the Smithsonian as per Mary Pickford’s request where it has been on display ever since then.

Where clarity is concerned, inclusions occur in sapphires too but not to the extent that they occur in rubies. Some of these inclusions are needle thin and intersect each other are known as silk, while others can form colour bands or the shape similar to fingerprints.

(Pleochroism; image courtesy of GIA edu)

These inclusions can cause the price of the gem to drop or soar depending on the effect they have on its clarity. The star effect, for instance, is called asterism and can hike up the price of the stone if the star is well-defined. Pleochroism is the phenomenon that occurs when the faceted stone shows off a different colour when looked at from a different direction. This is also quite an important characteristic of a sapphire.

(Star Sapphire set in a ring; image courtesy of Sotheby’s)

Now, colour zoning refers to the areas of different colours in a stone which is characteristic of a sapphire. Cutters often cut the gem in accordance with a pattern that shows the colour in the best possible perspective. The star corundums are, of course, carved in a cabochon cut (not faceted) with the star visible in its centre, the rays equidistant from each other. The value of a star corundum is decided on the basis of the carats (weight), the colour, the visibility and intensity of the asterism (star effect).

The weight of these sapphires can range from a few to a hundred carats. The price can change according to the size of the gemstone depending on the quality of the stone which can be fine-quality or commercial quality (far more easily available).

(Clockwise: The Star of Adam, the Star of Bombay and the Star of India; images courtesy of Dailymail UK, Flickr and Smithsonian Mag.com respectively.)

The largest (famed) sapphire is the Star of Adam weighs 1404.49 carats, the Star of India weighs 563.4 carats and the Star of Bombay 182 carats and all of these stones were mined in Sri Lanka but more about these in the next post.

When we think of sapphires, thanks to popular culture, what comes to mind is a gorgeous blue heart-shaped gemstone that the old lady threw into the ocean at the end of ‘Titanic’; the film (more about that necklace in another post).

(A Christie’s staff member wears “The Blue Belle of Asia”, a 392,52 carats sapphire, in this file picture taken during an auction preview in Geneva November 6, 2014; image courtesy of Reuters.)

Corundum is the oxide mineral that gives rise to the ruby and the sapphire, which is said to naturally occur in other colours as well; that is due to trace elements of other metals. The hardness of this precious stone measures 9 on the Mohs scale.

Where colour is concerned, sapphires are most popular as blue stones and colour plays a significantly large role when determining the value of the gem. Greater the intensity of the colour; all the more great is its value. Strongly saturated (vivid brightness) sapphires in medium tones that aren’t too dark command the highest prices in the gem market.

(Geologic Occurrence of Corundum; image courtesy of Geology.com)

Pink sapphires belong to the “fancy” sapphire coloured category and are known among the circles of gem traders as padparadscha, whose colour lies somewhere between salmon to orange. These fancy sapphires fetch a high price in the market especially in comparison to other fancy sapphires (sapphires of other colours).

Coloured sapphires range from hues of lemon, peach, orange and red to olive green and colourless (also known as white) sapphires.

Where clarity is concerned, inclusions occur in sapphires too but not to the extent that they occur in rubies. Some of these inclusions are needle thin and intersect each other are known as silk, while others can form colour bands or the shape similar to fingerprints. These inclusions can cause the price of the gem to drop or soar depending on the effect they have on its clarity. The star effect, for instance, is called asterism and can hike up the price of the stone if the star is well-defined. Pleochroism is the phenomenon that occurs when the faceted stone shows off a different colour when looked at from a different direction. This is also quite an important characteristic of a sapphire.

A Columbian discovery, this emerald made its way to India, where it was carved with a floral pattern reminiscent of the Mughal style. One belief is that it was carved instead of faceted because of the natural inclusions in the beryl which make the gem brittle in nature and susceptible to breakage. It is also possible that carving the stone instead of cutting facets was simply a conscious stylistic choice for that era of trends in jewellery making. The emerald is in the form of a pendant encircled by round diamonds and the necklace, in turn, is made up of two rows of diamonds; in all, the diamonds make up 50 carats worth. This emerald necklace is now a part of the National Gem Collection in the Smithsonian.

Mogul Mughal Emerald

(The Mogul Mughal Emerald; image courtesy of Christie’s.)

This is a rectangular tablet, dark green in colour also believed to be mined in Columbia. It is arguably one of the largest emeralds in the world, table-cut and weighing about 217.80 carats. It bears the carving of Arabic inscription on one side with a date marked as 1107 A.H. and a floral motif on the other side consisting of a rosette surrounded by poppies. Each of the sides has a hole drilled into it, possibly for attachments. Christie’s, New York auctioned off the emerald to an anonymous buyer for 2.2 million dollars sometime around or after 2001. The gemstone is reported to be in the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar as of today.

Guinness Emerald Crystal

(The Guinness Emerald Crystal; image courtesy of Internet Stones.)

This emerald used to be one of the largest natural emerald mined from Coscuez; one of the three significant mines in Columbia, the other two being Muzo and Chivor. 1,759 carats in weight, this emerald is bright green in colour and is an elongated crystal with twelve sides (dihexagonal). The emerald is somewhat translucent and there are fissures towards the bottom of it that are quite clearly visible to the naked eye (as is the case for most emeralds where visibility is concerned). It is currently in the care and possession of the Banco Nacionale de la Republica in BogotÃ, Colombia.

Mackay Emerald Necklace

(The Mackay Emerald Necklace; image courtesy of Pinterest.)

This spectacular gem made its way from the mines of Muzo to Cartier’s, who set it in a necklace. The emerald weighs 167.97 carats and it serves as a pendant surrounded by emeralds and round brilliant and step cut diamonds and is set in platinum. It was a wedding present to Anna Case, a prima donna of the New York Metropolitan Opera from her husband Clarence Mackay; which is where it got its name. It was donated by Anna Case Mackay to be a part of the National Gem Collection in 1984 and is currently on display and in the possession of the Smithsonian Institute.

Beryl is the mineral family from which the emerald hails and is distinguished from other gems by its green colour. The emerald is considered one of the four cardinal gems. The green in this gemstone comes from trace amounts of chromium, vanadium and iron (to an extent) and the variations in the trace amounts of these elements that exist in the stone are what determine its (the emerald’s) worth and marketability. It is also this very same colour that holds the emerald as the standard for every green gemstone out there.

Since colour plays a major role in distinguishing one gem from the other (in most cases), we’ll begin with that. Emeralds range, in colour, from a yellowish green to a bluish green, the darker the tone of green in a stone, all the more obvious it is that the gem is an emerald. A light coloured stone (yellowish) suggests it may be a green beryl and not the cardinal gem.

(The Flagler Emerald From the Estate of Mary Lily Kenan Flagler; image courtesy of Sotheby’s.)

Emeralds are mostly cut in a cabochon (not faceted) and that can be owing to the disparity in hues and saturation occurring due to the fissures in the stone. Other than cabochon and an oval cut, emeralds have a certain cut that is rectangular in shape, faceted on the top.

Clarity, where the emerald is concerned, can practically be judged by the naked eye and this is because the fractures occur close to the surface; making the emerald susceptible to breakage. The stone has a hardness of 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale which should make it a hard stone but because of the surface breaking fractures and inclusions that occur in most emeralds, the stone isn’t considered durable but brittle.

(Emerald necklace by Cartier; image courtesy of Sotheby’s.)

In order to correct these sorts of impairments and to strengthen the gem while increasing the clarity, the emeralds are treated with oils that seep into the fractures and improve clarity of the stone significantly. Having said that, emeralds that have been treated with oils are worth less in most cases where the market for gemstones is concerned.

Sufi poet of the 13th Century, Jalaludin Rumi (1207-1273) wrote the poem Sunrise Ruby, after which this famous gem has also been named. The Sunrise Ruby weighs 25.59-carats (5.1 g) and is pigeon blood red in colour. Burmese in origin, discovered in Mogok, this gem is considered one of the most rare of its kind. The stone is mounted on a ring in the middle of two heptagon-shaped diamonds that weigh 2.47 carats (0.49 g) and 2.70 carats (0.54 g) respectively and the design credited to Cartier. The ruby ring was auctioned off to an anonymous Swiss buyer at a Sotheby’s auction for US$30.42 million on the 12th of May 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. It is quite the record for a ruby as rare as this one; in comparison to diamonds.

This ruby in particular is carved from a single stone in the shape of the Liberty Bell (an iconic representation of American Independence) the carved bell is bordered by 50 white diamonds (standing for the 50 different states) and above the bell is an eagle (another symbol of the United States). It is the largest mined ruby of its size and weighs close to 4.5 pounds. It was discovered in the mines of Africa. The ruby was carved by Alfonso de Vivanco for the Kazanjian Brothers jewellery company. Unfortunately, the Liberty Bell Ruby was stolen among other valuables worth more than $4 million while it was being held at the Stuart Kingston jewellery store in Wilmington, Delaware. The thieves were arrested later on but the whereabouts of the Liberty Bell Ruby remain unknown to this day.

The Rosser Reeves Ruby

(L to R: The Ruby on display at the Smithsonian; image courtesy of Hyper Physics.edu and Rosser Reeves the advertising mogul; image courtesy of Branding Strategy Insider.)

This particular gem is of Sri Lankan origin and is named after Rosser Reeves who was an American advertising executive and a pioneer in his field, he published a book called Reality in Advertising which is taught at Harvard Business School. It is said that this stone weighing 138.7 carats (27.74 g) was carried around by the advertising mogul as a lucky stone. The Rosser Reeves Ruby is a six-rayed (well-defined) star ruby; one of the finest of its kind with vivid colour and clarity. Rosser Reeves donated this gem to the Smithsonian in 1965 where it has been put on display since then.

DeLong Star Ruby

(The Delong Star Ruby in the American Museum of Natural History in New York; image courtesy of Pinterest.)

This gem is a 100.32-carat (20.064 g) oval cabochon (shaped and polished but not faceted) star ruby. A ruby of Burmese origin, it is named after the Manhattan dowager Edith Haggin DeLong who donated the ruby to the American Museum of Natural History, New York in 1937. In 1964, a heist took place wherein the DeLong Star Ruby among other precious jewels was stolen, it was exchanged for a ransom and has been returned to the custody of the museum.

There are numerous beliefs tied to the ruby and they span over different cultures. Indians, for instance, believe that the ruby is of highest significant value. The king among gems is what the ruby was referred to by Indians. Hindus would offer gems to their deities and it is said of those who offered rubies (to Lord Krishna in particular) that they would be born again in their next lives as rulers. It is believed that the ruby has the power to bring peace to whomever it is in the possession of; peace between them and their enemies. Yet another belief suggests that the ruby brings peace to the wearer of the jewel, especially if it is worn on the left side, closer to the heart.

The ancient Burmese warriors held on firmly to the belief that the blood-red life affirming ruby, if kept close, brought them fortune when going to war. It is said that these warriors had rubies inserted into their flesh, wearing them under their skin, as a part of them; making them invincible.

(The National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., displays a pair of Dorothy’s slippers; image – Associated Press file photo)

Then of course we have Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz), brought to life courtesy of popular culture and cinema. The Good Witch of The West making sure Dorothy knows to click the heels of the Ruby Slippers thrice, saying, “There’s no place like home.” Those beautiful ruby slippers put on display in all of their technicolour glory. The original props used in the film had red sequins sewn on in place of actual rubies. The idea, however, was that they were Ruby slippers.

Safe to say, the king of all gems is tied to health, wealth and protection.

Corundum is the mineral that births rubies and sapphires and is a rock forming mineral known for its quality of hardness (placing the ruby third in line after the diamond) 9.0 on the Mohs scale. Dating back to antiquity, the ruby is considered one of the most precious gemstones; in the company of the diamond, emerald, sapphire and amethyst. It is red in colour, hence the name ruby which comes from the Latin word ruber which stands for the colour red. The ruby gets its colour from the mineral known as Chromium because its compounds can be vividly coloured. Chromium, whose name, incidentally comes from the Greek word chroma which means colour.

(L to R: A pigeon-blood red ruby; image courtesy of Pinterest and a pink sapphire; image courtesy of James Allen.)

The most significant part of a ruby is the shade of red it holds. Blood red or Pigeon blood fetches the highest price and the lightest shade being a light pinkish colour can classify it as a pink sapphire, a separate gem altogether (which is debatable). Orange, pink and purple are also hues that can be showcased by a ruby.

Next in line is the clarity of the stone. Rubies tend to have inclusions (a characteristic within the stone itself, visible due to the transparency of the stone) and this may diminish the value of the gem but the complete absence of the inclusion can also be taken to mean that the gem has been treated.

As far as the cut goes, en cabochon (smooth and not faceted) rubies are typically the ones that visible asterism which is the star effect. Transparent rubies have a glassy lustre. Rubies that have rutile inclusions (as explained above) have a silky shine; like star rubies.

In this photo taken Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010, Jim Stein, owner of Stuart Kingston Jewelers, poses with a custom case holding the Liberty Ruby in Wilmington, Del. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says four men have been arrested in connection with the theft of a $2 million ruby during a jewelry store heist in Wilmington, Del. Spokeswoman Kimberlynn Reeves said an indictment that had been returned in December against the suspects was unsealed Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 after their arrest. The four are accused of robbing Stuart Kingston Jewelers in November 2011 and escaping with $4.4 million in jewelry, including the 5-inch, 4-pound Liberty Bell Ruby, made from the largest mined ruby in the world. The indictment says the armed, masked men restrained store employees with zip ties and duct tape and smashed glass display cases with hammers. Reeves said none of the jewelry has been recovered.(AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, William Bretzger)

(L to R: The Sunrise Ruby; image courtesy of Sotheby’s and Jim Stein, owner of Stuart Kingston Jewelers, poses with a custom case holding the Liberty Ruby; image courtesy of The Daily Mail.)

The Burmese rubies are well-renowned gems the world over, making Burma (Myanmar) a significantly important source for this particular gemstone. Sri Lanka and Thailand are important sources of the ruby as well, among other countries in the world.

Some famous rubies include the Sunrise Ruby, the Liberty Bell Ruby, the Rosser Reeves Ruby, the DeLong Star Ruby and the Hope Ruby among others.