It is not yet clear how JP Morgan has come into the possession of the Star of India, but it was most likely during one of his numerous trips to the Old Continent.Īt this point it’s only natural to ask: why was a gemstone found in Sri Lanka, previously known as Ceylon until 1972, not called by the proper name “Star of Ceylon”? It is probable that the explanation comes from Sri Lanka’s colonial period, as in 1815 Ceylon was still a part of the British Empire. They grey-blue corundum was discovered around 300 years ago in Sri Lanka and was donated in 1901 by financier Jon Pierpont Morgan to the “American Museum of Natural History” in New York where it is has since been stored and displayed to the public, with the brief exception of 1964. The peculiarity of this star is that the asterism is visible from both sides, on both the top and bottom side. The Star of India has a carat weight of 536 carats, probably the largest sapphire ever to be cut, and it displays the surprising effect of a six pointed star. This story is closely related to the history of a surf champion, but more on that later! History of the Star of India I discovered it while writing about Asterism, also known as the star effect. I find the story of the “Star of India” fascinating, it is the story of the sapphire with the largest asterism in the world.
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