December 11, 2014: Gemfields, a leading supplier of coloured gemstones, has discovered a 40.23 carat rough ruby, believed to be one of the most important rubies unearthed in recent times.
The gemstone sets a new benchmark for the quality of African rubies and endorses the Montepuez deposit in Mozambique as the world’s most significant deposit in development. At 340 square kilometers, Montepuez is the largest ruby mining concession in private hands in the world today, and has already proven to be one of the most productive of all ruby mining concessions.
Given its significance, the gem has been appraised in advance of Gemfields’ December ruby auction in Singapore by the Gübelin Gem Lab in Switzerland. “Although difficult to judge in the rough state, the transparency and colour of the crystal indicate an important gemstone might be cut from this piece of rough. We are looking forward to following the development of this remarkable rough from its current state to a cut gem.” says Daniel Nyfeler,Managing Director of Gübelin.
Following the appraisal, jewellery expert and historian, Joanna Hardy, examined the gemstone to further highlight the qualities of the impressive gem.