AP Image credit
 Sri Lanka Blue Sapphire
A Sri Lankan displays a star blue sapphire, claimed to be the worlds biggest star blue sapphire on... 

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan gem merchant claiming to have the world's biggest star blue sapphire is ready to sell the precious stone he says is worth at least $300 million.

The Gemmological Institute of Colombo certified the gem as weighing 1404.49 carats. The institute's chief gemologist Ashan Amarasinghe said according to the available data, the stone could be the biggest of its type.

The oval-shaped gem is as large as a man's palm and was mined from a gem pit near the central town of Ratnapura known as the "gem city" of Sri Lanka.

The present owner says he bought the sapphire last September from a local gem merchant and got it certified from the GIC. The owner spoke to the AP at his home in the capital Colombo but asked for his identity to not to revealed because he fears that he might be abducted or killed for the stone.

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Jan. 8, 2016 10:44 AM EST Link

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