Sri Lanka unveiled a rare purple star sapphire weighing 3,563 carats in Colombo on Saturday, and the owners said they are ready to sell the gem.
The gem is named “Star of Pure Land,” and the owners estimated it is worth at least $300 million. A consultant gemologist, Ashan Amarasinghe, said in media remarks that it is the world’s largest documented natural purple star sapphire.
“This is the largest purple star sapphire of its kind,” Amarasinghe told the media. He added that the stone “shows a well-defined asterism. It has six rays asterism. That’s something special out of all the other stones.”
Amarasinghe described the gem as polished, and said its star-shaped optical effect includes an asterism with six rays. He said the stone’s characteristics are what set it apart from other purple star sapphires.
The gem is owned by the Star of Pure Land Team, and the owners want to remain anonymous for security reasons. The team said one of the owners found the sapphire in a gem pit near the remote Sri Lankan town of Rathnapura, known as the “city of gems,” in 2023.
The owners said they purchased the sapphire in 2023 along with other gems. About two years later, they concluded it was a special stone and then had it certified by two laboratories.
Amarasinghe said international valuers estimated the sapphire’s value at $300 million to $400 million. He also said Sri Lankan sapphires are renowned for their unique color, clarity and shimmer.