A 52 carat ruby and a pink diamond have set two world auction records after they were sold for over $30 million in a single sale in New York on Thursday. The ruby named "Estrela de Fura”, a whopping 55.22 carats, was discovered last year in a mine in Mozambique. The record was previously held by the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59 carat Burmese stone, which sold for 30.3 million dollars (£24,148,191) at Sotheby’s Geneva in May 2015. Uncut "Estrela de Fura” was 101 carats. The name "Estrela de Fura” means “Star of Fura” in Portuguese. The name refers to the company that mined the stone. Polished rubies of more than five carats are extremely rare.
Sotheby’s, who auctioned the gem, described it as a “once-in-a-lifetime” jewel.
A 10.57 carat pink diamond, dubbed The Eternal Pink, also achieved 34.8 million dollars at auction on Thursday, establishing a world auction record for a “fancy purplish-pink diamond”.
Sotheby’s has described it as the “most vivid pink diamond to ever come to market”.
Quig Bruning, head of Sotheby’s Jewellery in the Americas, said: “Today, we witnessed the historic sale of not one, but two of the most exquisite and important diamonds and gemstones to ever hit the auction block.
“It’s difficult to express the range of emotions I felt when I first laid eyes on the Estrela de Fura 55.22, but to put it simply, I was entranced.
“With its unprecedented size, piercing colour and rare degree of optical transparency and clarity, it truly deserved the record-breaking price today, as it now joins the ranks of the world’s most legendary gemstones.”
