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IbisNibs

Exotic animal, sort of . . .
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Outside my comfort zone.
One bit of lore about sapphires: they're supposed to create a bond of love between the giver and the recipient.
 
cor! What a whopper!

Sri Lanka: World's largest star sapphire cluster found in backyard​

By Anbarasan Ethirajan
BBC News

Published4 hours ago
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Gemologist Gamini Zoysa analyses the star sapphire cluster
IMAGE COPYRIGHT MR GAMAGEimage caption Experts say the gemstone has an estimated value of up to $100 million

Sri Lankan authorities say the world's largest star sapphire cluster has been found in a backyard - by accident.

A gem trader said the stone was found by workmen digging a well in his home in the gem-rich Ratnapura area. Experts say the stone, which is pale blue in colour, has an estimated value of up to $100 million in the international market. The cluster weighs around 510 kilograms or 2.5 million carats and has been named the "Serendipity Sapphire".

"The person who was digging the well alerted us about some rare stones. Later we stumbled upon this huge specimen," Mr Gamage, the owner of the stone, told the BBC.m He did not want to give his full name or location for security reasons.

Mr Gamage, who is a third-generation gem trader, informed authorities about the find, but it took more than a year to clean the stone of mud and other impurities before they could analyse and certify it. During the cleaning process, Mr Gamage said some stones fell out of the cluster and they were found to be high quality star sapphires.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57981046
 
Its worth whatever anyone is prepared to pay.

But its a grand rock, all the same.

`Serendipity`? I see what they did there...
 
An Australian prospector found an 834-carat sapphire sticking out of the ground after hard rains.
Rains reveal 834-carat sapphire the size of 'small child's fist' in Queensland Gemfields

Matt Betteridge was on an evening walk when his eye caught a "glimmer sticking out of the dirt". ...


"The rain unearthed it that little bit … I thought it was going to be an average-sized stone until I couldn't pull it out," Mr Betteridge said.

"It seemed very heavy, popped out a nice ball, like a small child's fist, but very heavy like a lump of lead."

Mr Betteridge found the stone about 100 metres from the mining claim he lives on at the Reward fossicking land near Rubyvale in Queensland's Gemfields.

The region is one of the largest sapphire-bearing areas in the world.

Mr Betteridge found it late last month while out specking, the practice of walking around scanning the ground for stones.

After getting it valued, he realised it was an 834-carat sapphire, which he described as "very, very rare". ...

Mr Betteridge sent the stone to a local gem cutter for an approximate valuation.

It is estimated to be worth $12,500.

While it contained some crystal that could be cut into jewellery, Mr Betteridge was keeping the stone in one piece to display its full size. ...

The Gemmological Association of Australia's Helen Levonis, a jewellery valuer, said collectors often avoided cutting into large stones to produce smaller sapphires.

She said receiving anything more than a five-carat gemstone, "which is only a gram", was very rare in sapphires.

"When you get something … like an 830-carat sapphire, that's phenomenal," Ms Levonis said.

"It could have far more value as the crystal than it will as cut-up pieces of sapphire," Ms Levonis said. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10...als-834-carat-sapphire-at-gemfields/101522116
 
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