Famous rubies: the stones that define the standard

The Sunrise Ruby: 25.59 carats, Sotheby's Geneva 2015

The Sunrise Ruby is the benchmark stone for understanding what the market values most in ruby: the convergence of large size, exceptional colour, and confirmed unheated Burmese origin in a single gem. Each of these factors alone produces a premium. Together, they produce a price that exceeds the auction record for most diamond categories.

The stone's physical description

The Sunrise Ruby weighs 25.59 carats, making it one of the largest faceted rubies of its quality in documented circulation. The cut is a rectangular modified brilliant, a shape that allows a significant carat yield from the rough while presenting the stone's colour effectively face-up. The Gübelin certificate describes the colour as: origin Myanmar (Burma), Mogok region; no indications of heat treatment; "pigeon blood" colour designation. The stone was mounted by Cartier in a ring flanked by two shield-shaped diamonds (Sotheby's Geneva, published sale catalogue and results, May 2015, Lot 376).

The significance of the price

The sale price of approximately CHF 30.3 million represented several records simultaneously. The per-carat price of approximately CHF 1.18 million was, at the date of sale, the highest per-carat price achieved for any coloured stone at a major international auction. It exceeded the per-carat records for sapphire, emerald, and all other coloured stone categories at that time. The absolute sale price of approximately USD 32.5 million also set the record for ruby at auction (Sotheby's Geneva, published results).

The Sunrise Ruby's price was not an anomaly produced by two unusual bidders on an unusual day. It reflected a genuine market assessment: a stone of this size and quality combination, with this documentation, appears once in years, not months. The supply of unheated Burmese rubies above 20 carats with confirmed pigeon blood character is effectively measured in units per decade globally. Any single such stone is irreplaceable. The market priced that irreplaceability.

The Rumi poem and the naming

Sotheby's named the stone the Sunrise Ruby from a poem by the 13th-century Persian mystic Jalal ad-Din Rumi: "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase 'each other' doesn't make any sense. The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep. I would love to kiss you. The price of kissing is your life. Now my loving is running toward my life shouting: What a bargain! Let's buy it." The auctioneers selected a specific couplet about a sunrise ruby for the naming. The tradition of naming exceptional gemstones after evocative imagery has a long history in the auction world.

The Graff Ruby: 8.62 carats, Christie's Geneva 2014

The Graff Ruby sold at Christie's Geneva on 13 November 2014 for approximately CHF 8.6 million, achieving a per-carat price of approximately USD 1.18 million (Christie's Geneva, published sale results, November 2014, Lot 378). At the time of sale, the per-carat price set a new world record for ruby and for coloured gemstones at auction, a record subsequently broken by the Sunrise Ruby in 2015.

The stone weighs 8.62 carats, an oval mixed cut. The AGL certificate describes it as Burma (Myanmar) origin, no indications of heat treatment, with the colour quality designation at the finest level. The stone was subsequently acquired by Laurence Graff, the London-based jeweller, after whom it became known (Christie's Geneva, published sale results, November 2014; AGL certificate documentation as described in Christie's catalogue).

The Graff Ruby's significance extends beyond its own record: it demonstrated that the per-carat price premium for exceptional unheated Burmese ruby was breaking the USD 1 million per carat threshold, establishing a new market tier that had not previously existed for coloured stones. The Sunrise Ruby the following year confirmed this was not an outlier.

The DeLong Star Ruby: 100.32 carats, American Museum of Natural History

The DeLong Star Ruby is one of the world's largest and finest star rubies, weighing 100.32 carats. The stone is held in the J.P. Morgan Hall of Gems at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, acquired in 1937 with funds donated by Edith Haggin de Long, for whom it is named. It is a cabochon-cut stone of Burmese origin, displaying a six-rayed asterism produced by oriented rutile silk inclusions. The star is sharp, centred, and well-defined across the deep red base colour (American Museum of Natural History, collection records, amnh.org).

The 1964 theft and ransom

The DeLong Star Ruby was stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in October 1964 as part of one of the most notorious gem thefts in American history, along with the Star of India sapphire (563 carats) and other significant gems. The theft was carried out by Jack Murphy (known as "Murph the Surf") and accomplices through an open window. The Star of India was recovered within days following arrests. The DeLong Star Ruby required a ransom of USD 25,000, raised by Miami businessman John D. MacArthur, and was recovered through a ransom drop in Florida in 1965. The story received significant press coverage and became one of the most documented gem theft cases in history. Both stones have been in the AMNH collection continuously since their recovery (American Museum of Natural History; documented news reports from The New York Times, October 1964 and subsequent recovery coverage).

The Rosser Reeves Star Ruby: 138.7 carats, Smithsonian Institution

The Rosser Reeves Star Ruby, weighing 138.7 carats, is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. It is one of the largest fine star rubies in the world and displays a six-rayed asterism of exceptional sharpness and centring. The stone's base colour is a vivid red, making it among the finest examples of large star ruby in any collection (Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, collection records, naturalhistory.si.edu).

The stone is named for Rosser Reeves, an American advertising executive (1910–1984) known for developing the concept of the "unique selling proposition" in advertising. Reeves reportedly carried the ruby as a good luck charm for years before donating it to the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian received the stone in 1965. Origin is Burmese, consistent with the star ruby tradition associated with the Mogok and adjacent Kyaukme areas of Myanmar (Smithsonian Institution collection records).

Mughal rubies: the greatest historic ruby collection

The Mughal emperors of India assembled what was, by any historical assessment, the greatest collection of rubies ever brought together. The Mughal imperial treasury, built across the reigns of Babur (1526–1530), Humayun (1530–1556, 1555–1556), Akbar (1556–1605), Jahangir (1605–1627), Shah Jahan (1628–1658), and Aurangzeb (1658–1707), accumulated rubies from the Burmese trade, from Central Asian sources, from earlier Delhi Sultanate treasuries, and through conquest and tribute. The rubies in this collection were not simply collected as gems: they were inscribed, carved, and incorporated into objects of extraordinary craftsmanship (Ogden, J., Jewellery of the Ancient World, Trefoil, London, 1982; V&A Museum collection documentation, vam.ac.uk).

The inscribed Mughal rubies

A distinctive feature of Mughal ruby collecting was the practice of inscribing rubies with the names and titles of the emperors who owned them. The Timur Ruby, discussed in the precious vs semi-precious article, is in fact a spinel, not a ruby, but is inscribed with the names of six rulers from Timur Lang (Tamerlane) to Shah Jahan, documenting its movement through the Central Asian and Mughal courts over three centuries. The practice of inscription created a documentary record of ownership that is unique among historic gem collections (Royal Collection Trust, rcollection.org).

Genuine inscribed Mughal rubies also exist. The V&A Museum in London holds several pieces from the Mughal period with inscription evidence, and private collections worldwide contain examples of spinel and ruby with Mughal inscription. The authenticity of Mughal inscriptions is a specialist field: inscriptions were sometimes added to stones after the Mughal period to enhance their apparent provenance (V&A Museum, collection records, vam.ac.uk).

The Mughal ruby market today

Authentic documented Mughal-period rubies and ruby-set objects appear at major auction houses periodically, primarily at Christie's and Sotheby's sale rooms focused on Indian and Islamic art and jewellery. When provenance documentation is strong (inscription evidence, historical records, private collection history tracing to the Mughal period), these objects command substantial premiums that reflect both the gemological quality and the historical significance. The Indian and Gulf buyer market for Mughal-period jewellery has been particularly active in the 21st century (Christie's; Sotheby's, published results for Indian and Islamic art sales).

The Edwardes Ruby: 167 carats, Natural History Museum London

The Edwardes Ruby is a 167-carat rough ruby crystal held in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London. It was presented to the museum by Major-General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes in 1887. The crystal is of Burmese origin and represents one of the largest documented rough ruby crystals in a public collection. It is displayed as a mineral specimen rather than as a faceted gem, retaining its natural crystal form with the hexagonal prism morphology characteristic of corundum (Natural History Museum London, collection records, nhm.ac.uk).

The Edwardes Ruby's significance lies in its documentation of the scale of ruby crystals that Mogok has historically produced: a 167-carat rough crystal of gem-quality material indicates that the primary marble formation at Mogok was capable of growing very large ruby crystals under the right conditions. Most of this material was cut into multiple smaller gems for commercial purposes, which is why large faceted rubies above 10 carats are exceptionally rare: the rough that could produce them was almost invariably cut to yield multiple commercial stones rather than a single large gem.

The Hixon Ruby Crystal: 196 carats, Natural History Museum Los Angeles

The Hixon Ruby Crystal, weighing approximately 196 carats, is in the collection of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. It is one of the finest large ruby crystals in any museum collection, showing well-formed hexagonal crystal faces and a deeply saturated red colour that is visible even in the rough, uncut crystal. The crystal is of Burmese origin (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, collection records).

Like the Edwardes Ruby, the Hixon Crystal is preserved as a mineral specimen rather than cut into gemstones. The decision to preserve rather than cut such crystals reflects a tension between the gemological and mineralogical values of fine rough: the crystal as a scientific object and specimen of natural formation has value that would be destroyed by cutting, even though the resulting faceted gems would have high commercial value.

The auction record timeline: ruby at the highest levels

The following documents the major auction records for ruby from approximately 2012 through 2025, showing the trajectory of the market for the finest stones at the top of the quality range. All figures are approximate and sourced to published auction house results.

All figures approximate. Sources: Sotheby's Geneva published results (sothebys.com); Christie's Geneva and New York published results (christies.com); Phillips published results (phillips.com). Exchange rates at approximate time of sale. All fine quality, unheated, Burma (Mogok) origin unless otherwise noted.

What the auction record trajectory shows

The auction record for ruby at the highest quality tier has shown a clear upward trajectory from approximately 2012 onward. The pre-2012 record for ruby at auction was approximately USD 4 million for a single stone. By 2014 the Graff Ruby broke USD 9 million. By 2015 the Sunrise Ruby broke USD 32 million. The 2016–2025 period has shown sustained high prices for unheated Burmese rubies of fine colour, with the per-carat range for the finest examples settling in the USD 500,000–1.5 million range at major auction houses.

The drivers of this appreciation are consistent with the broader fine gem market: growing demand from Asian collector markets (particularly Chinese, Hong Kong, and Singapore buyers), declining supply of unheated Mogok material as the deposit's most productive period recedes further into history, and increasing sophistication of certification that makes provenance claims verifiable. The Sunrise Ruby's record may stand for many years: finding another unheated Burmese ruby of that size and colour quality requires geological luck that does not reliably repeat.

India and the history of ruby: the world's first market

India was the world's primary market for fine ruby for at least two thousand years before European buyers entered the market at scale. Sanskrit texts from the classical period describe ruby with vocabulary suggesting long familiarity: the Arthashastra attributed to Kautilya (circa 3rd century BCE) describes grades of manikya based on colour and clarity, documenting that quality evaluation of ruby was already a sophisticated practice in ancient India. The Ratnapariksha (gem examination) texts within the Garuda Purana and other classical sources describe methods for testing ruby quality that anticipate modern gemological criteria (Ogden, J., Jewellery of the Ancient World, Trefoil, London, 1982, pp. 80–90; Garuda Purana, Chapter 70).

The Burmese-Indian ruby trade

The primary historical trade route for Burmese ruby to India ran from the Mogok mines through Mandalay, then southward to Rangoon (Yangon), across the Bay of Bengal, and to the ports of Bengal and Gujarat. From there, rubies moved inland to Jaipur, Agra, Delhi, and Lahore. The Mughal court in Agra and Lahore was the ultimate destination for the finest stones. The trade was well-documented by Mughal court records and by Portuguese and Dutch trading company records from the 16th and 17th centuries (Ogden, 1982; Ward, F., Rubies and Sapphires, Gem Book Publishers, 1991).

Jaipur's position as a ruby cutting and trading centre developed partly from this historical trade flow. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who founded Jaipur in 1727, deliberately attracted gem cutters and traders to the new city, building on the existing trade infrastructure that ran through Rajasthan between the coasts and the Mughal court. The ruby trade established in this period continued through the colonial era and persists today, with Jaipur remaining a major centre for ruby cutting and trading even as the ownership of the Mogok mines and the trade routes through Myanmar have changed dramatically (GIA, 2016, "Jaipur, India," Gems and Gemology, Winter 2016).

The Jyotish ruby tradition and its historical context

The association of ruby with the Sun (Surya) in the Vedic astrological tradition is among the oldest documented gemstone-planet associations in any culture. The Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira (approximately 6th century CE) includes a chapter on gemstone examination (Ratna Pariksha) that specifies the properties of manikya (ruby) and connects them to solar energy and vitality. The classical text describes defects to avoid (inclusions that resemble bubbles, cracks that reach the surface, irregular colour) and qualities to seek (vivid red, high transparency, lustre) that align closely with modern gemological quality criteria for the same material (Brihat Samhita, Ratna Pariksha chapter; Behari, B., Gems and Astrology, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, 1991).

The Navratna setting, which places a ruby at the centre surrounded by eight other planetary stones, has Mughal-period documentation and continues as both a jewellery tradition and a Jyotish practice. The finest Navratna pieces documented from the Mughal period show rubies of quality that would command significant prices in the current market: unheated, large, vivid colour (V&A Museum, Mughal jewellery collection documentation).

Famous Indian rubies: the royal collections

The ruby collections of Indian royal houses, particularly those of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maharajas of Jaipur, Patiala, and Baroda, contained stones of exceptional quality accumulated over centuries of trade access to the Burmese source. Many of these collections were dispersed in the 20th century through sale, export, or redistribution following Indian independence. Stones from these collections have appeared at Christie's and Sotheby's, occasionally with provenance documentation connecting them to specific Mughal or princely Indian ownership (Christie's; Sotheby's, Indian and Islamic art sale records).

The Nizam of Hyderabad's treasury, among the largest private gem collections in history, reportedly included rubies of exceptional size and quality. The collection was partially acquired by the Indian government after Hyderabad's accession to the Indian Union in 1948 and is documented in the historical records of the Nizam's holdings (Sotheby's and Christie's, Indian auction records; documented historical accounts of the Nizam's treasury).

Approximate per-carat price trajectory for the finest unheated Burmese ruby at major international auction houses, approximately 2010–2025. The Graff Ruby (2014) and Sunrise Ruby (2015) established a new price tier above USD 1 million per carat. Sources: Christie's Geneva; Sotheby's Geneva published results.

Notable rubies in museum collections: a reference list

The following documents significant rubies in major public museum collections with available documentation.

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.): The Rosser Reeves Star Ruby (138.7 carats, Burmese origin, donated by Rosser Reeves in 1965) and a collection of fine faceted rubies from various origins. The Smithsonian's mineralogy collection also includes significant ruby specimens from Mogok and other deposits (naturalhistory.si.edu).

American Museum of Natural History (New York): The DeLong Star Ruby (100.32 carats, Burmese origin, acquired 1937, stolen 1964, recovered 1965) is among the highlights of the J.P. Morgan Hall of Gems. The Morgan gem collection includes additional fine rubies (amnh.org).

Natural History Museum (London): The Edwardes Ruby (167-carat rough crystal, Burmese origin, donated 1887) and additional faceted examples in the mineralogy collection (nhm.ac.uk).

Victoria and Albert Museum (London): Mughal-period ruby jewellery and ruby-set objects from the Mughal and later Indian royal court periods, including documented examples with inscription evidence (vam.ac.uk).

Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna): Ruby-set objects from the Habsburg imperial collection, including Renaissance and Baroque period jewellery with significant Burmese ruby content (khm.at).