Unearthed by miners in Mozambique last July, a 55.22-carat ruby has just sold for a record-breaking $34.8 million.

Dubbed the Estrela di Fura in the country's official language of Portuguese, it was cut and polished into a symmetrical shape of deep red down from its rough carat count of 101.

Sotheby's, which handled the sale, described the stone as "exceedingly rare" and "the most valuable and important" ruby ever to go under the hammer.

It was discovered in one of the mines of Canadian firm Fura Gems, whose CEO Dev Shetty said a stone of that size was "unprecedented"

"From the in-depth analysis and study of the stone—through the process of cutting and polishing—we have worked with the utmost care and respect for the ruby, recognizing its importance and stature," he added.

A man named Balbir, who handles sorting for Fura, was both the first to see the jewel and hear back from laboratory work done on it.

"I have a laboratory that came back to me and said: ‘In 20 years of testing, I've never seen anything like this'," Balbir told Voice of Indonesia, per Google Translate. "No one has seen anything like this before, in terms of fluorescent, color, and clarity."

One of the most-productive ruby mining countries on Earth, rubies were only discovered in Mozambique a few decades ago, and only came to international attention after a large deposit was found in 2009.

"This is a historic moment for us, my company, and for Mozambique. I am very happy and proud of Mozambique; it deserves all the praise," Shetty also told VOI.

The CEO is on a mission to make colored gemstones on par in consumers' eyes with diamonds. According to Shetty, rubies are actually 20 times rarer than diamonds and traded pretty much dollar for dollar until the 1980s. That's when the Belgian diamond brokers De Beers used considerable marketing prowess to convince the whole world diamonds were uniquely superior to sapphire, emerald, and ruby.

According to news from Mozambique, the government is implementing a multifaceted approach to ensure gem export goes through legal channels in order to contribute to the development of the country. It's also undergoing the implementation of the "Kimberly scheme" to certify that diamonds, also discovered there, are mined without any human rights violations.

Over the last few decades, particularly with colored stones, several low and middle-income countries have been able to establish conflict-free, ethical gem mining operations, breaking the famous "Resource Curse." Two good examples of this are the sapphire trade in Sri Lanka, a huge gem exporter that has also become a world leader in ethical mining, and the state of Veracruz in Mexico where amethyst mining is decentralized and supports thousands of families.

The Muzo Mine in Colombia produces many of the emeralds in the industry today. Muzo miners belong to a union, have access to healthcare, fixed salaries, and profits are invested into both the local community and the environment.

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