©Smithsonian Institution

Characteristics of the gemstone

One of the largest blue star sapphires in the world

    The “Star of Asia Sapphire” is a 330-carat blue-violet star sapphire, with a distinct six-rayed star perfectly positioned at the center of the cabochon-cut stone, with rays extending towards the girdle of the stone. The presence of rutile fibres makes the stone milky and transluscent, and is also responsible for the asterism (star effect) of the gemstone. The “Star of Asia Sapphire” is one of the top quality blue star sapphires in the world, perhaps only second to the renowned 563.35-carat “Star of India Sapphire” in the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

 History of the “Star of Asia Sapphire”

    The “Star of Asia Sapphire” has an uncertain early history, but the stone is believed to have been owned at one time by the Maharajah of Jodhpur. This is not surprising, because the main producing and consuming nations of gemstones and diamonds during the period of the discovery of rubies in Mogok, were the different kingdoms and sultanates of the Indian sub-continent. Thus large quantities of rubies and sapphires mined in the Mogok mines were smuggled out of Burma, and reached these independent kingdoms, where they had a ready market, and were snapped up by the ruling monarchies of these kingdoms. According to Aziz (1942), the Mughal treasury had an excellent collection of fine rubies that were added to the treasury beginning from the period of the Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammed Akbar (1556-1605) to that of Emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707). Aziz lists about 35 rubies varying in size from the about 35 carats to around 372 carats. Most of the rubies in this collection were more than 100 carats in weight, and were believed to be of Burmese origin. This period also corresponds with the period of peak production in the Mogok mines of Burma. Likewise, even the “Star of Asia Sapphire” that originated in the Mogok mines, would have reached Jodhpur, where it was purchased by the Maharajah. (Jodhpur is presently situated in Rajasthan State, which is one of the northwestern states of India)

   It is not precisely known during which period in the history of Jodhpur, the “Star of Asia Sapphire” became the property of the Maharajah of Jodhpur. But it is known for certain that the renowned sapphire had changed hands and eventually came into the possession of Martin Leo Ehrmann, who was the greatest collector and supplier of minerals and gemstones the world had ever known, who supplied rare and valuable minerals and gemstones, to many universities and museums around the United States. Among his notable clients were the American Museum of Natural History, New York, Harvard University, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, and the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution.

  In the year 1961, the “Star of Asia Sapphire” was acquired by the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington D.C.

                                                                                    (Collect : A Dong Gems)