You never know what someone will splurge on for Christmas. On November 12, Sotheby’s High Jewelry auction in Geneva concluded with a bang: a 12.78 ct Burmese ruby—we describe as “heavily included”—hammered for over $1.3 million (including buyer’s premium).
The Stone at a Glance
• Weight: 12.78 ct
• Origin: Burma (Myanmar), no heat treatment
• Color: Medium-to-strong saturation
• Clarity: Heavily included, with a critical twist…
When I first saw the gem photographs, the color is a stunning pinkish-red. However, its clarity reminds me more of the clarity of a Colombian emerald than a Burma ruby. Once you read the Comments section of the SSEF report, alarms go off.
The Red Flag: “Orange Filler in Fissures”
SSEF’s comment reads:
"Minor amount of orange filler in fissures at time of treating.”
Let’s decode that:
• “Minor” is lab-speak that’s often generous. In the trade, it can mean anything from a trace to “super-juiced.”
• “At time of treating” implies the oil was added during cutting. How do they know? No time machine required—just a convenient way to make the oil process sound normal. We often hear, "It's just the oil from the wheel while cuttting." If you believe that line, I have some land in Florida to sell you.
• Orange oil is typically used to mask fissures and boost apparent clarity. Without it, this stone’s inclusions would likely render it opaque in patches and defintely drop in desiribility.
Bottom line: You cannot accurately grade clarity with filler in place. Acetone testing (to dissolve the oil) is the only way to reveal the stone’s true state. Shockingly, Sotheby’s didn’t require it.
Auction Surprise
• Estimate: $440,000–$700,000
• Hammer Price: ~$1.3 million (nearly 3x low estimate, 2x high)
In a rational market, a heavily treated, heavily included ruby wouldn’t touch these numbers. But provenance, rarity hype, and holiday FOMO can override logic.
We’d never touch a stone with this comment. The risk of post-purchase “filler evaporation” (and clarity looking visually worse) is too high. Obviously, the only reason to fill a gemstone is to make the clarity look better. Think emeralds. For collectors: demand acetone-cleaned stones and recent independent lab clarity verification before bidding.
Caveat emptor—especially at seven figures.