Smithsonian gets 23.1-carat ruby

The Carmen Lucia ruby goes on public display for the first time Saturday, the newest star of the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington.

The 23.1-carat stone “is the largest and finest faceted ruby on public display,” Jeffrey Post, curator of the gem collection, said Tuesday.

Discovered in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) in the 1930s, the stone has been in private hands until now. The stone, set in a platinum ring with diamonds, was obtained with funds donated to the museum by Peter Buck in memory of his wife. Post declined to discuss the price.