New Ruby Auction records coming? Can the controversial 55.22 carat Mozambique Ruby sell for more than the 25.59 carat Burmese Sunrise Ruby?
Both for sale this summer! Burmese Sunrise ruby back on market after 8 years.
The 25.59 Burmese ruby (photo above) sold for a world record US$30.42 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in May 2015.. That totals over $1.1 million per carat. The Sunrise Ruby" is 'stoplight red' color and has eye visible inclusions. It will be reauctioned in May 10, 2023 at Christie's in Geneva. It is part of the $150 million Heidi Horton estate.
The stone that is purported to challenge the Sunrise in the total sales amount for a ruby auction prices was discovered from FURA’s ruby mine in Mozambique in July of 2022. Originally, the gemstone weighed 101 carats and was subsequently named Estrela de FURA (Star of FURA in Portuguese). At that time, the stone was claimed to be worth $100 million. Since cutting, the stone is now valued at $30 million or slightly over $500,000 per carat. It will go to auction on June 8, 2023 at Sotheby's.
Here is the Sotheby's .46 video: Click Here
Here are some photos from social media. The stone is really being smashed. Some say these real photos make the Mozambique ruby look like garnet or heated red/black Thai ruby.
Screenshots of new Sotheby's Instagram photos show the gem is purple and too dark.
In summary, we recommend anyone interested in this stone to make sure and put eyes on this rock before bidding. This is one stone you cannot bid on based solely upon auction house photography. We can make the argument this Mozambique ruby could be fairly priced because it is 2X as large as the Burmese Sunrise and is selling for about 1/2 the per carat price, which is an acceptable discount to what the selling price would be if it were true gem Burma red. Of course, this would be true only if the Mozambique was top gem red like the Sunrise Ruby. However, with only GSR and Bellerophon grading reports stating "pigeon blood" who knows? Too bad this stone doesn't have an AGL color grade/tone grading report. Due to the large auction commissions added to these stones, we hope the photos have not been tampered with by the photographers/graphic designers.
We thought the Sunrise ruby would sell for more 8 years later, but on May 10, 2023, it sold for only $14.66 million. Some argue the stone sold for too much the first time it went to auction. Others contend auction prices often do not reflect pricing reality, when two wealthy people bid up stones to dizzying heights. Let's see how much the Mozambique ruby sells for.
Read the full report of what happened at the Gemstone Forecaster, Volume 41. #2, Summer 2023 here