World Renowned Sapphires
From their miraculous extraction from the earth, gemstones date back to their discovery by ancient civilizations million years ago and have fascinated and amazed people all over the world. Each precious stone is different from the others in terms of beauty and rarity. There are some, though, that become legendary. These wonders are unique, well-known and in high demand from both museums and collectors. They stand out from the competition due to their immense size, unparalleled beauty, and distinguished pedigree. The pure blue colours and excellent durability of the Sapphire make for an exceptional gemstone. These sapphires are the ones that have made their presence known in the globe. Despite the fact that sapphires larger than 100 carats are extremely rare, they do exist in significant gem collections worldwide. But there are surprisingly few sapphires that weigh greater than 350 carats on the list.
Blue Giant of the Orient
The Blue Giant of the Orient is a magnificent 486.52 carats and considered as the largest faceted sapphire in the world. The more than 600-carat rough sapphire, which was found in Rathnapura district of Sri Lanka in 1907, was bought by renowned gem and jewelry merchant O.L.M. Macan Marker & Co. The rough was treated by the local cutter before it underwent cutting and polishing and became 486 carats. The stone was valued at GBP 7000 after cutting the stone. This stone was sold to an unnamed American private collector in 1907 and remained unnoticed until it turned up in Christie's Magnificent Jewels action catalog in May 2004.
The 'Ceylon Morning Leader' a newspaper in Sri Lanka on August 23, 1907, published the following news item under the headline 'A monster Sapphire worth 7,000 pounds’.
O.L.M. Macan Markar, jeweller, GOH Buildings, is the possessor of what is alleged to be the largest sapphire in the world. The stone was mined in the Ratnapura district some six months ago. In its finished state it is 2 1/2 inches-long, 1 3/4 inches broad, and its greatest thickness is 3/4 of an inch.
The sapphire, there is every reason to believe, is - the largest sapphire in the world. The sapphire was mined by four Sinhalese villagers who as a syndicate, started a small mining speculation in the Kuruwiti korale. The villagers sold the stone in the rough to J.W. Ekneligoda R.M. of Kuruwiti korale, who in turn sold the gem in the same condition to A.L. Mustafa Lebbe, Ratnapura, the transfer price being R20,000. A.L. Mustafa Lebbe had the stone cut and polished, an operation which occupied for months, and then sold it in its perfected condition to Macan Markar. The sapphire, a magnificent stone, now weighs 466 carats and is of brilliant darkish blue colour.
The stone is valued at pound 15 sterling a carat, making the gem worth approximately pound 7,000. A gold casket is being made to contain the stone, since it is too big for setting purposes. Macan Markar will have the stone on his premises for several weeks, and will be pleased to show the gem to any visitors who may call. Macan Markar is also the owner of the largest and best catseye ever found in Ceylon, which is valued at pound 3,000.
According to certain experts, the stone contained 20 carats of discrepancies. Christie's auction catalog either showed a flaw in the equipment's accuracy at the time or a straightforward recording error. Following the Christie's auction failure to secure a price for the stone, Christie received an offer and sold the stone to an unidentified British buyer for $1 million and has not since been made public.
Queen Marie of Romania Sapphire
Cornflower blue cushion cut Ceylon sapphire weighing 478.68 carats (95.736 g) is the Queen Marie of Romania Sapphire. The second largest sapphire ever up for sale, it was sold at Christie's in 2003. It was given that name because of its connection to its original owner, Queen Marie of Edinburgh of Romania.
This Cornflower blue Ceylon sapphire, weighing 478.68 carats (95.736 g), was originally reported by Cartier in 1913 when it was combined with seven other sapphires to form a diamond and sapphire sautoir. Later, to make this gemstone stand out, the design was changed to be entirely made of diamonds. The redesigned necklace was displayed in San Sebastián, Spain, in 1919. Queen Victoria Eugenia saw it there and was drawn to it. King Alfonso XIII, her husband, was supposed to buy it, but he chose not to.
Romania's Queen Marie, a first cousin of Spain's Queen Victoria Eugenia, sent her treasures to St. Petersburg for storage at the start of World War I. During the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks took her jewelry and never gave it back to Marie. She acquired a huge diamond and sapphire Kokoshnik-style tiara from her cousin, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, to add to her collection. She thought the Cartier sapphire sautoir was ideal to match her new tiara, so her husband, King Ferdinand I, paid approximately 1,375,000 francs for the piece in total in 1921.
Harry Winston bought the necklace when the Romanian monarchy was overthrown in 1947. Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma married King Michael in Athens in 1948 while sporting the sautoir but without the sapphire pendant. Since then, it has been divided. Queen Frederica of Greece, a first cousin twice removed of Queen Marie, received the stone that Winston had sold to a wealthy Greek citizen at her coronation. The sapphire was prominently worn by Queen Frederica during her tour to the United States in 1964 and during her son's wedding the same year. After the Greek monarchy was overthrown in 1973, it was not worn in public.
On November 18, 2003, the sapphire was offered for sale at Christie's as "the property of an aristocratic family" for CHF 1,916,000. It's unknown if the sellers were a different noble family or the Greek royal family. A private collector bought it.
The Logan Sapphire
The third largest faceted gem-quality blue sapphire in the world, this stunning stone weighs 422.99 carats. It is cushion cut and has a rich, deep blue color. It is named after Mrs. Polly Logan, a Washington, D.C. socialite who purchased the perfect Sri Lankan stone.
The Logan Sapphire is mounted in an egg-shaped brooch that has 20 round diamonds surrounding it. The gem was given by Mrs. Polly Logan to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960, and it is now on exhibit next to the Bismarck Sapphire Necklace.
Blue Belle Of Asia
The Blue Belle of Asia is the fourth-largest blue sapphire ever reported, weighing 392.52 carats. Only three sapphires are larger: the Logan sapphire (422.99 carats), the Queen of Romania sapphire (478.68 carats), and the Blue Giant of the Orient (486.52 carats).
In 1926, This fabled stone was found on a paddy field in Palmadulla, in Rathnapura District of Sri Lanka. The famed gem and jewelry company O L M Macan Markar & Co in Colombo purchased the 392-carat sapphire, which was appraised at £50,000 after being cut and polished. The sapphire was bought by Lord Nuffield, the creator of Morris Motors Limited and a British automobile entrepreneur, in 1937.
According to rumors, Queen Elizabeth, the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and the wife of King George VI, would receive the sapphire on her coronation day in May 1937. The Blue Belle of Asia instead "disappeared" into private hands, and its whereabouts were unknown for many years. The Blue Belle of Asia resurfaced on November 1st, 2014, and was offered for sale by Christie's in Geneva for the first time as "The Property of a Private Collector." It was purchased for CHF 16,965,000, or around $17,300,000, making it the most expensive colored stone and sapphire ever sold at auction.
Star Of India
Wealthy financier J.P. Morgan hired gem specialist George Kunz to build up an amazing gem collection in advance of the 1900 Paris Exposition. One of Kunz's most notable finds was The Star of India, however it's unknown where it came from before the Exposition.
The grey-blue star sapphire, which was found in Sri Lanka, weighs 563.35 carats, is almost flawless, particularly unique and contains stars on both sides. Up until the Star of Adam's discovery in 2016, this was the largest blue star sapphire ever found. Morgan gave the Star of India and all the other stones to the American Museum of Natural History after the Exposition.
Rosser Reeves Star Ruby
One of the biggest and finest star rubies in the world, the Rosser Reeves star ruby was discovered in Sri Lanka. This unique ruby for this caliber combines the exceptional qualities of superb color, good transparency, and a well-defined star. This beautiful stone is well known for its brilliant color and distinct star design. The famous 138 carat Rosser Reeves star Ruby was created by re-cutting this stone, which weighed 140 carats initially. This round cabochon-cut star sapphire has an extremely perfect asterism. Due to iron contamination, the majority of star sapphires from Sri Lanka are typically blue to gray, making this amazing Rosser reeves star ruby an outlier in terms of color and size. Former owner Rosser Revers, who later served as the 34th President of the United States of America, gave this ruby its name. This stone was purchased by Rosser Reeves in 1950, and he carried it with him wherever he went because he thought it was a lucky stone. The star ruby, a prized possession now on display at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution, was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Rosser Reeves in 1965.
The Star of Adam
The largest star sapphire in the world right now, The Star of Adam is an oval-shaped blue stone. 1,404.49 carats in total (280.898 g). The Black Star of Queensland, measuring 733 carats (146.6 g), was the world's largest star sapphire gem before it was discovered.
The six-pointed star-shaped reflection or distinguishing mark is located in the center of the blue gemstone. This enormous star sapphire was found in Rathnapura in south Sri Lanka, well known as the "City of Gems," in August 2015.The current owner gave it the name "The Star of Adam" in honor of the Muslim notion that Adam traveled to Sri Lanka and settled on Adam's Peak after leaving the Garden of Eden.
The Gemological Institute of Colombo confirmed the blue star sapphire's weight of 1,404.49 carats (280.898 g; 9.9084 oz); the institute said that it had never written a report on a gemstone greater than "The Star of Adam." But with good jewels, size doesn't really matter. Tens of kilograms worth of corundum crystals have been found.
Researchers say that because stones of this size are so uncommon, they may have been found among granite, which can be as old as 2 billion years. The stone may have been as hot as 900 Celsius and as dense as 9000 atmospheric pressure before cooling over millions of years.
The Star of Bombay
The Star of Bombay, a gorgeously clear, 182 carat violet-blue star sapphire with wonderful asterism, was found in Sri Lanka in the early 1930s. It was chosen by actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. as a gift for his wife, silent film icon Mary Pickford, and set in a platinum ring by jewelers on Park Avenue in New York City.
Pickford loved the ring and wore it a lot during her life. When she passed away in 1979, she left the Star of Bombay to the Smithsonian Museum, where it has since remained on display.
Conclusion
As one of the world's steadiest suppliers of top-quality sapphires and seventy-five other types of gemstones, Sri Lanka is one of the most important countries in the world when it comes to gemstones, despite its small size. Sri Lanka has been the source of many celebrated gemstones throughout history.Sri Lanka has long celebrated as the main source for large blue sapphires and star corundum, that are above the size of 100 carats. Worlds largest first (Blue giant of the orient),second (Queen Mary Sapphire) and third (Blue belle of asia) faceted blue sapphires originated from Sri Lanka.