Amazing Tales of Geology - Episode 2: The Black Star of Queensland

Could it be true that one of the most valuable and beautiful gems in all of human history was once considered a worthless rock and used as a simple doorstop in Australia? The shocking answer is YES. Watch this short video about the amazing history of The Black Star of Queensland:

In 1938, an excited 12-yr-old boy found a palm-sized, dark rock on a hillside in Queensland, Australia. Little Roy proudly showed the stone to his family, but his father, Harry, was so unimpressed that he used it as a doorstop in the back of their tiny shack. But Harry Spencer, (himself a miner in the central Queensland gem fields), should have known better. The rejected rock sat on his dusty floor, forgotten for almost ten years.

But then, Harry learned that sapphires could be almost any color. He finally realized that the stone that his son had found was likely a black sapphire, and quickly put out the word that he had a valuable gemstone for sale. The news of this find garnered the attention of the famous jeweler Harry Kazanjian, who journeyed from southern California in 1947 to Queensland to purchase the one-of-a-kind treasure. Kazanjian paid the Spencer family $18,000 for the gem, which translates to approximately $200,000 in today’s dollars.

Kazanjian spent nearly two months studying the enormous stone, planning his cuts and facets with the hopes of revealing the highly-prized asterism that might be hiding deep within. His patience and planning paid off handsomely, and after removing over 400 carats of surrounding material, a six-pointed star appeared in the center of the 733-carat masterpiece.

Dubbed “The Black Star of Queensland,” the spectacular gemstone was appraised as being worth over $1 million dollars in 1949. Now surrounded by a ring of 35 diamonds, the Black Star of Queensland is currently valued at close to $100 million dollars and sits in the private collection of an anonymous European gem collector. From worthless doorstop to priceless treasure, now you know the amazing tale of the Black Star of Queensland.