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Timur ruby
gem
Timur ruby, jewel that is in fact not a ruby but one of the world’s largest polished red magnesia spinels (see ruby spinel). The unfaceted, 361-carat stone was transferred to the East India Company following their annexation of the Punjab region during the late 1840s. It was set in a gold and diamond necklace that was created for Queen Victoria in 1853. It is inscribed with the names and dates of six of its owners. The earliest is Shāh Jahāngīr, 1612, and the latest is Aḥmad Shāh Durrānī, 1754.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.
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