Queen of Asia

Queen of Asia is a gem stone. It is the largest known sapphire stone. In December 2021, it was unveiled in Sri Lanka.

About Queen of Asia

• It weighs 300 kg.
• It was discovered inside a gem pit. The pit is located 45 km from Colombo.
• It is the world largest corundum stone
• 90% of all corundum stones are found in Sri Lanka
• Its value is 100 million USD. It will take a year to clean the mud and other impurities in the stone.
• It was formed 400 million years ago.

Queen of Asia is a Corundum

• Corundum is a crystalline form of Aluminium Oxide. It consists of iron, vanadium, titanium and chromium.
• It is a transparent mineral. However, it takes the colour of the metal impurity in its structure.
• There are two primary gem varieties in corundum. They are sapphire and ruby. Rubies are red in colour due to the presence of chromium. Sapphires exhibit different colours except red. The Padparadscha sapphire is rare and is pink – orange in colour.
• They are infusible and insoluble.
• The corundum is hard and can scratch almost all other minerals.
• Corundum is mined in Pakistan, Zimbabwae, Afghanistan, Russia, India and Sri Lanka.

How is Corundum formed?

Corundum is a high temperature mineral. It is formed by metamorphism of alumina – rich rocks at temperatures between 500 and 800 degrees Celsius. Metamorphism is the process that brings changes in minerals, that is, changing its arrangement without melting it. This happens due to high heat and pressure and by introducing chemical fluids.

Why is Corundum so expensive?

• The corundum is expensive for its colour and attractiveness.
• The origin and size of the stone has strong impact on its price

How are gem stones rated?

The metal gold and diamond are rated in carats. The gem stones like Corundum are rated in Cs. The four Cs of gem grading are colour, cut, clarity and carat (weight).