World's largest blue sapphire cluster to be moved to Dubai

COLOMBO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The world's largest blue star sapphire cluster will be moved to Dubai after it failed to find a buyer since it was shifted to Switzerland in October 2021, local media quoted a Sri Lankan official as saying here Tuesday.

People inspect the single natural corundum (blue sapphire) named 'Queen of Asia', considered the largest found in the world, in Horana, some 45 km from Colombo on December 12, 2021. (File photo: AFP)

The star sapphire cluster weighs 503.2 kg, and was found in Sri Lanka's south-central city of Ratnapura last year, said Sri Lanka's National Gem and Jewellery Authority Chairman Viraj de Silva.

According to official documents, it was listed in the Guinness World Records as the world's largest sapphire aggregate in 2022.

Viraj said after being shifted to Switzerland in October last year, they were yet to find a buyer for the star sapphire, and therefore they decided to bring the cluster to Dubai.

The stone was found by a gem trader last year by workmen digging a well at his home in the gem-rich Ratnapura area.

Experts say the stone, which is pale blue in color, has an estimated value of up to 100 million U.S. dollars in the international market.