The following is a question raised by one of our readers pertaining to our Blog webpage on "The Black Star of Queensland Famous Black Sapphire Gemstone"published on February 19, 2008.
After reading the article on the Black Sapphire of Queensland and the amount of money that it brought in 2002, I wanted to ask Dr. Shihaan of his opinion as to what the “Black Sapphire of Queensland” would be appraised for today?
The following answer was provided by me on April 1, 2009 :-
Hello,
Thank you very much for the question regarding the black star sapphire.
Actually it is not known for how much the stone was sold by the anonymous owner in 2002.The estimate of 100 million dollars was quoted by several leading newspapers, but they did not quote their source either.
Considering the enormous size and the perfect star, I am not surprised at the estimate.
Take a look at the current prices of black star sapphires:These are the prices of smaller black star sapphires.
>1.0carats 3 to 10 US$ per carat
>1.0–4.99carats 10 to 50 US$ per carat
5.0carats + 30 to 100 US$ per carat (golden stars may reach US$ 200 per carat).
The Black Star of Queensland is the only large black star sapphire in the World, it is the only one of its kind in the world.There are numerous large star rubies and large star blue sapphires in many museums and private collections of the world.
The usual sizes of black star sapphires is less than 5 carats, making the black star of Queensland an extremely rare gemstone.It is highly unlikely that another one of this size will be found even in the future.
In my opinion it is difficult to estimate the present value, being an extraordinary stone it cant be compared to market value, because black sapphire stones of such enormous size and quality are not available in the market. The price will be determined by the highest bidder (auction) for the gemstone.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions/comments on this gemstone or any other gemstones/diamonds - Dr Shihaan