Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · May 11
Myanmar 11,000-carat ruby is discovered in Mogok
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · May 11

Myanmar 11,000-carat ruby is discovered in Mogok

6 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · May 11
  • State media said the 2.2-kilogram stone was shown to President Min Aung Hlaing after being unearthed in the Mogok gem tract in Mandalay region.
  • The military-backed government called it exceptionally large and rare, saying its purplish-red colour, clarity and quality could make it more valuable than a 21,450-carat ruby found there in 1996.
  • Mogok is famed for high-priced pigeon-blood rubies in a poorly regulated gemstone trade, while Myanmar remains under military-dominated rule after the 2021 coup and ensuing civil war.
Beyond its carat weight, what is the true human cost of Myanmar's newly discovered 'blood ruby'?
How can a priceless gem, unearthed under a sanctioned regime, find its way to the legal luxury market?
Why was this massive ruby's discovery announced just as the junta's leader assumed the presidency?