By Ray Lundin – Gemologist
Carmen Lucia Ruby. Photo courtesy of Chip Clark, Smithsonian Institution.
In the 1930s, a large oval-shaped ruby was mined in the Mogok region of Burma, now known as Myanmar, the classic source of great rubies. This 23.1-carat ruby is one of the largest fine faceted Burmese rubies in the world. Burmese rubies are prized for their color.
This ruby is a bright red with undertones of pink and purple, a coveted hue known to gem dealers as “pigeon blood red.” This stone is now known as the Carmen Lucia Ruby. This is the story of this beautiful ruby and the lady it was named after.
Who or where the stone was first cut is unclear. It is not known who owned the stone before international gem dealers bought it about 20 years ago. It is not so unusual to have remarkable stones to remain for generations in private family vaults. When such a treasure surfaces, it causes a major stir in the gem world.
A naturally occurring ruby crystal.
Carmen Buck, born in Brazil, was a collector of jewels, as well as a philanthropist dedicated to medical research. She had learned of the ruby from jeweler Frank Cappiello of Danbury, Conn., who in 2002, had heard that it might be coming on the market after many years in private hands. At that time she was fighting cancer and hoped to celebrate a recovery by purchasing the stone. She died in 2003.
Carmen’s husband, Peter Buck, is ranked No. 165 in Forbes Magazine’s most wealthy and is worth $1.5 billion. He is a former nuclear scientist and co-owner of the Subway sandwich restaurant chain. On one occasion, Mrs. Buck noticed photos of the ruby on Frank Cappiello’s desk. But Carmen Lucia Buck had recently been diagnosed with cancer and was receiving radiation treatments at the time she saw those photos. Cappiello knew this was not the time to sell jewelry, but the time to simply be a friend.
He said, “She saw the pictures of the ruby. Then we let it go. It wasn’t the right time for that.”
Ruby crystal from Winza, Tanzania
It was only after Mrs. Buck died that Cappiello remembered she liked the ruby. After all, Mrs. Buck was generous with her good fortune. She was always giving gifts to her family and friends. Cappiello recalls that she had built a few hospitals in her hometown of Minas Gerais, Brazil. And when the appropriate time arose, Cappiello suggested to Dr. Buck that the ruby, the one his wife had admired, would be a terrific gift to the American people – if he would consider it.
Knowing that his now deceased wife liked the ruby, now set in a platinum ring with another ruby of the same quality and accented with cut diamonds, he decided to buy the ring and donate it to the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection. When the romantic aura of a ring is combined with the drama of a precious jewel, the effect can be very powerful. It is as tokens of love that rings are most endearing. Cappiello helped Dr. Buck come up with the name for the ruby. They named it the Carmen Lucia Ruby.
Dr. Buck said, “I hope many people will enjoy the Carmen Lucia Ruby.”
The Carmen Lucia Ruby is the largest faceted ruby in the museum’s National Gem Collection and is one of the finest Burmese rubies known to exist in the world. While diamonds, sapphires and emeralds weighing hundreds of carats exist, high quality Burmese rubies larger than 20 carats are exceedingly rare.
“Already,” Buck said, “the ring has probably been seen by more people than had seen it since it was first unearthed in the 1930s.”
