Everyone loves big and beautiful gemstones. Because of this, most of the top gemstones will always pass through the hands of various nobles or royal families, with their ups and downs stories
Like the Austrian women who passed away last year. Heidi, whose Sunrise Ruby and Beheaded Queen Pearl are both ruthless characters
The Carmen-Lucia ruby I will introduce today is just such a gem, and the love story behind it seems to make its charm even more touching
The Carmen Lucia ruby weighs 23.1 carats and is oval-cut. It was mined in Mogok, Myanmar in the 1930s. It is considered to be one of the largest high-quality faceted rubies in the world.
Myanmar pigeon blood rubies are world-famous, especially for their production. The ruby from the Mogok mining area is the king of rubies. It has a unique velvety feel and strong fluorescence, and the color is as bright as pigeon blood. It is said to have a magical charm that can make people fall in love at first sight.
From the perspective of gem identification , the Carmen Lucia ruby is almost perfect: looking at the color, it presents a pure and rich "pigeon blood red" tone, especially when exposed to the sun, it will emit a dazzling light and dazzling; looking at the size, it Weighing 23.1 carats, it is undoubtedly astonishing among rubies. It is recognized as one of the largest and finest faceted Burmese rubies in the world.
Looks like a candy bar
The gem is named after a person, and its story naturally needs to be Let’s talk about Carmen Lucia
Carmen Lucia is the second wife of American entrepreneur Peter Buck. Peter himself is a scholar who studies nuclear physics, but what is more successful may be his investment vision and Business ability
In 1965, in order to earn tuition for further studies, he and his friend Red jointly opened a sandwich shop, Pete's Submarines, which was the predecessor of Subway that later opened all over the world. With sandwiches, Peter made a lot of money and became a well-known mogul in the United States. In 2016, his net worth was estimated to be about 1.6 billion US dollars.
Unlike other moguls whose private lives were a mess, Peter maintained a low profile and cautiousness throughout his life. Famous, there are not many photos to be found, and her love life is even simpler
When she was young, probably under the arrangement of her parents, she married Heidi, a second-generation official, and had three children. Later, she ended up getting divorced due to personality differences.
In 1978, 48 At the age of 13, Peter met Carmen Lucia, a Brazilian studying in the United States. Although he was already middle-aged, Peter firmly believed that Carmen Lucia was the love of his life. In the same year, the two got married and had a young son, William.
Peter and Carmen-Lucia can be said to be a like-minded person who is committed to investing the family wealth into philanthropic causes in various fields.In order to better manage related charity industries, Peter established a joint foundation between the two, namely pclb, which is still in good operation.
As a noble lady, in addition to charity, Carmen Lucia is also an avid jewelry enthusiast. She especially likes rubies with rich colors.
is too low-key. She doesn’t even have a photo. You can understand it= She was attracted by the dazzling and hot red light bursting out in the photo.
She was suffering from cancer at the time, and she really hoped to get this gem so that she could "inject chicken blood".
Peter, who loved his wife, naturally did not hesitate to spend a lot of money when he learned about it. They had to get the ruby, but unfortunately due to various external reasons, and Carmen Lucia's condition progressed rapidly, she died of illness in 2003, and she was ultimately unable to see the ruby with her own eyes.
Peter did not let go of this obsession. He donated an unfathomable amount of money to the Smithsonian Institution to purchase the ruby, which was eventually named the "Carmen Lucia Ruby"
The ruby was completed by master Frank Cappiello Design and setting, with two simple colorless triangular diamonds to complete the setting
In 2004, Peter officially donated the completed Carmen Lucia ruby to the Smithsonian Museum. He believed that this was what his late wife wanted to do, to let the United States People and even tourists from all over the world can feel the unique dazzling light of gems.
Jeffrey Post, then director of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, said that the Carmen Lucia ruby is the most important addition to the museum’s collection in more than 20 years.
2021 In November, Peter finished his life and 50% of his Subway shares were invested in a joint foundation with his late wife. The Carmen-Lucia ruby is still safely placed in the museum, freezing this romantic love story forever.
