![]() Morgan commissioned George Kunz (who cut the Tiffany Diamond) to curate and acquire a gem collection for the Paris Exhibition of 1900. Later erosion deposited the rough gems in alluvial sand and gravel deposits left behind by ancient rivers. Along this belt, 2-billion-year-old granites were crushed together and heated to very high temperatures and pressures to form metamorphic deposits as the supercontinent of Gondwana was assembled about 550 million years ago.Sapphires and other gemstones are found in the “Mozambique Belt,” which runs from Mozambique to Ethiopia and Sudan, to Madagascar, to southern India and Sri Lanka, and, ultimately, to the eastern coast of Antarctica.It was discovered sometime in the early 1700’s in what is now Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon), where large sapphires continue to be found.The Star of India is currently the third-largest star sapphire gemstone on record.The second largest, the Black Star of Queensland (733 carats), was found around 1930 in Australia. The largest star sapphire (1404 carats) was found in 2015 in Sri Lanka and is known as the Star of Adam.The nearly flawless gray-blue golf ball–sized stone weighs 563.35 carats (112.67 g or 3.97 oz), and is unique because it exhibits asterism on both the top and bottom of its cabochon cut.The Star of India is one of the largest and most famous gem-quality star sapphires in the world.Legend has it that Helen of Troy’s beauty was endowed by a magical star sapphire.Sometimes hematite (Fe2O3) inclusions create gold asterism in corundum gemstones.The rutile inclusions also tend to make the stones appear milky and ethereal.These stones are cut into dome-shaped cabochons (shaped and polished gemstones) to better reveal the stars, which move as angles of illumination change.Some sapphires are called star sapphires because they have mineral inclusions of rutile (TiO2) that align along the trigonal planes of corundum’s crystal lattice to reflect light in white six-pointed star patterns-an effect known as asterism.Corundum is used in sandpaper, grinding wheels, jewel movement watches, electronics, and lasers.Corundum is very dense for a transparent mineral made of elements with relatively low atomic mass, at 4.04 g/cm3 (0.145 lb/in3).Corundum is the index mineral for a hardness of 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. Corundum is the third-hardest mineral only diamonds and moissanites are harder.Red corundum, always called a ruby, is caused by chromium impurities.Iron impurities create yellow sapphires.Titanium impurities result in blue sapphires, like the famous deep blue sapphire engagement ring made famous by Britain’s Princess Diana and now worn by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.Variable mixtures of impurities result in a range of other colors that are all referred to as sapphires, unless they are red. Pure corundum is colorless and is known as white sapphire, but minute impurities absorb different wavelengths of light and change the reflected color of gemstones. ![]() Sapphires are gem-quality stones of the aluminum-oxide mineral corundum (Al2O3).Its mysterious history includes a wild ride during the 1964 jewel heist of the century. Synopsis: The Star of India, one of the largest star sapphires on Earth, is unique because it shows six-pointed asterism (starlike patterns) on both its top and bottom sides. It’s Earth’s near-flawless creations that humans still value the most… Background One of the thieves finally led detectives to the Star of India, which they found with several smaller gems in a wet leather bag in a bus-station locker. MacArthur, paid a ransom to have the DeLong Ruby returned to the museum. The Eagle Diamond was never recovered, probably cut into several smaller stones. The other two fled to Florida the cops pursued and, a few days later, apprehended them, too-but not before they dispersed the jewels. ![]() The thieves didn’t go far with it, renting a luxury apartment near the museum.Īn informant tipped off the police, who raided the place and captured one of them. The Star of India, besides being huge and nearly flawless, has stars that are visible from top and bottom. Mineral inclusions in a sapphire sometimes line up along its crystal lattice to reflect light in a six-pointed star. When colored red by chromium, it’s a ruby. Pure corundum is clear, but when colored blue by titanium impurities, it’s called a sapphire. Sapphires are a variety of corundum, the third-hardest mineral. They returned that night to scale the museum wall, climb through a bathroom window, and steal 22 of the most precious jewels in the world.Īmong them were the Eagle Diamond, the DeLong Star Ruby, and, most famous of all, the Star of India sapphire. In October 1964, three young thieves cased the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Star of India is a nearly flawless golf ball–sized star sapphire stolen in the jewel heist of the century. ![]()
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