Well–Sapphire is not alone in having a cushion cut gem set records. On January 27th we wrote about the record setting cushion cut Ceylon Sapphire of just under 300 carats. This past November 12th a cushion cut ruby set a record price for a ruby. The ruby in question is known as the Graff Ruby. It sold for over $8.6 million USD. It was sold by the jeweler Graff to a collector who later put it up for sale. Graff bought the stone back again at auction saying more or less that it is the best ruby on the planet. So buying it made sense. This story brings up a great point. Truly great gems are rare and from the standpoint of fine colored gems this is abundantly clear. There is a truly magnificent star ruby in the collection at the L.A. County Museum of Natural History. Years ago a Southern California person of wealth put out a call to find one that fit the same description. From what I know she was got skunked. Hmmm. Fine color is indeed hard to find. At times impossible. What I know after all these years is that I’ve really only regretted two things with regards to merchandise: 1. Selling items that are irreplaceable and 2. Not buying items that later proved to be irreplaceable. Were there ever real regrets on purchases—not really. It is always the elusive nature of fine gems that makes a person say “I wish I’d kept that piece” or “I should have bought that darn piece”—“doggone it, I let it get away!!!”
Back to the Graff Ruby—the stone by comparison to the earlier mentioned Sapphire is quite small. Rubies are smaller. At 8.62 carats the Graff Ruby is in fact mounted in a ring and quite wearable—hope those prongs hold!!! The gems in the picture are cushion cut ruby to give you an idea of what a cushion cut ruby looks like. The actual Graff stone has sides that do not bow quite as much.