STAR OF INDIA
The Star of India, at 563.35 carats, is the largest and most famous star sapphire in the world. It is a cabochon cut sapphire. Industrialist and financier J. P. Morgan presented the sapphire to the New York Museum of Natural History in 1900. Today, the Star of India is one of the most renowned objects in all of the Museum’s collections.
PETER THE GREAT’S NOSE
This is a 547 carat polished sapphire, curiously named ‘Peter the Great’s Nose.’ It was originally given by Peter I to Augustus the Strong in 1698, and is displayed in the Green Vault in Dresden, Germany.
QUEEN OF ROMANIA BLUE SAPPHIRE
Queen Marie of Romania’s sapphire is the largest sapphire ever presented at an auction (2003) and with its genuine beauty and fascinating history becomes what can indisputably be termed a unique jewel. Of the worlds most famous and historic cut sapphires, the gem offered was by far the largest, weighing 478 carats.
ITS HISTORY: The Coronation of King Ferdinand took place in 1922 and as part of her jewels; Queen Marie wore her splendid necklace perfectly complementing the extraordinary sapphire tiara she had bought from Grand Duchess Vladimir when she fled from Russia. These were also the two jewels that the Queen wore for her portrait by Philip de Laszlo in 1924. The sapphire was sold, possibly in 1947 when King Michael (grandson of Queen Marie) left Romania and was acquired by Harry Winston. The last pictures of the diamond necklace without the sapphire were taken at the wedding of exiled King Michael of Romania to Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma in 1948. It was subsequently dismantled.
Actually larger than a hen’s egg and mounted by Cartier, the sapphire that was once owned by Queen Marie of Romania ultimately sold at auction in 2003 for 1,916,000 Swiss francs (US$1,494,000). It went to a telephone bidder.
LOGAN SAPPHIRE
Next in size, the Logan sapphire of 423 carats, was donated by Mrs. John A. Logan to the Smithsonian Institute in 1960. A Sri Lankan sapphire, it is the heaviest mounted gem in the National Gem Collection, and is framed in a brooch setting surrounded by twenty round brilliant-cut diamonds, totaling 16 carats. The piece was a gift to the Smithsonian Institute from Mrs. John A. Logan in 1960.
CATHERINE THE GREAT’S SAPPHIRE AND THE OTHER
The next largest cut sapphires are actually two. Both weigh 337 carats. Catherine the Great’s Sapphire was purchased in 1948 by Harry Winston and, as part of his ‘Court of Jewels’ exhibition toured the major cities of America from 1949 to 1953. It is currently on display in the Diamond Fund Exhibition, The Kremlin Armory Museum, Moscow.
The other sapphire of 337 carats was sold by Christie’s of Geneva in May 1991. It had been part of a private collection since circa 1910 when it was mounted by Cartier.