Famous Rubies Throughout History

Rubies have captivated our hearts and imaginations for thousands of years. The gem's rarity, dramatic red color and rich heritage has made it more valuable and sought after than diamonds in many instances.

While the finest rubies have long been associated with royalty, it's interesting to note that some of the most famous "rubies" in crown jewels around the world are actually an "imposter" gemstone called spinel. For instance, the Black Prince's Ruby, a 170-carat stone adorning the Imperial State Crown in the British Crown Jewels, is a red spinel. Also, The Timur Ruby, a 352-carat red spinel now owned by Queen Elizabeth, has the names of Mughal (medieval India) emperors who previously owned it engraved on its face.

In honor of the magnificent ruby, which is the birthstone for July, Jewelry.com takes a look at a few of history's most famous rubies.

• The largest known gem-quality ruby -- at 250 carats -- is on the crown of Charles IV of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia (1316-78). It was ordered in 1346 for the shrine containing the skull of Saint Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia (921-29).
• The 167-carat Edwardes Ruby, named after Major-General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes (1819-68) who served for the British in India, was donated to the British Museum of Natural History in London by John Ruskin in 1887.
• The 137-carat Rosser Reeves Ruby, a star ruby (domed stone that displays a luminous six-rayed star when viewed in the right light), is located in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. It is considered the largest fine star ruby in existence.
• The 100-carat DeLong Star Ruby was donated by Edith Haggin DeLong in 1937 to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
• The J.N. Forster Rubies are two large Burma rubies (37 and 47 carats) that were brought to England in 1875. These stones had been put on the market by the Burmese royal family and were later recut by Forster.
• A 15.97-carat ruby belonging to U.S. geologist Allan Caplan was sold at auction in New York by Sotheby's in 1988 for $3.63 million. At $227,300 per carat, this made it the most expensive ruby in the world.
• The Eminent Star Ruby, an oval cabochon (domed) star, is the largest ruby known. This 6,465 carat-cut stone weighed over 30,000 carats in the rough. Considered of mediocre quality, the gem is believed to have come from India and is currently owned by Kailash Rawat of Eminent Gems, New York.