The stone, a whopping 55.22 carats, was discovered last year in a mine in Mozambique.

Uncut it was 101 carats. It has been called the "Estrela de Fura” meaning “Star of Fura” in Portuguese. The name refers to the company that mined the stone.

Polished rubies of more than five carats are extremely rare.

Sotheby's, who auctioned the gem, described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime" jewel.

The same auction also saw a record sum achieved for a pink diamond.

The 10.5 carat gem from Botswana - described as a fancy purplish-pink stone - sold for just under $35m.