DeLong Star Ruby

The DeLong Star Ruby, a 100.32-carat (20.064 g) oval cabochon star ruby, was discovered in Burma in the 1930s. It was sold by Martin Ehrmann to Edith Haggin DeLong for US$21,400, who then donated it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 1937.

On October 29, 1964, the DeLong star ruby was one of a number of precious gems stolen in a notorious jewelry heist by Jack Roland Murphy and two accomplices. Some of the stolen gems (notably, the Star of India and the Midnight Star) were recovered in a bus depot locker in January 1965; however, the DeLong ruby was not among them. After months of negotiation, the unknown holder of the ruby agreed, through third parties, to ransom it for $25,000. The ransom was paid by wealthy Florida businessman John D. MacArthur and he was present on September 2, 1965, when the ruby was recovered at the designated drop off site: a phone booth at a service plaza on the Sunshine State Parkway near Palm Beach, Florida.

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