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Liberty Bell Ruby

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Liberty Bell Ruby

The Liberty Bell Ruby is a sculpture crafted from the world's largest mined ruby,[1] discovered in East Africa in the 1950s.[2] It weighs four pounds, is eight and a half thousand carats (8,500), and is sculpted into a miniature form of the Liberty Bell. It has 50 diamonds set in it and is valued at $2 million.

The ruby was created in 1976 for Beverly Hills-based Kazanjian Brothers jewelry company by sculptor Alfonso de Vivanco for the United States Bicentennial.[3] It was made in the same spirit as sapphire busts of presidents that the jeweler's charitable foundation presented to the White House when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president.

Theft

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It was being held on behalf of a foundation at a jewelry store in Delaware when it was stolen in a heist on November 1, 2011.[4] A $10,000 reward was offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction for those responsible.[5] On February 20, 2014, four men were arrested and indicted for the heist. Police have little hope that the Liberty Bell Ruby will be recovered.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Barrish, Chris; O'Sullivan, Sean (21 February 2014). "5 indicted in $4 million jewelry store robbery". The News Journal. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  2. ^ Oishimaya Sen Nag (18 May 2018). "A List Of The Most Valuable And Word Famous Rubies". worldatlas.com. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  3. ^ "A Few Famous Fine Rubies". Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  4. ^ "'Irreplaceable' $2 Million Ruby Stolen In Wilmington Jewelry Heist". 9 January 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  5. ^ "$10K reward offered in theft of rare ruby". Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  6. ^ "4 Arrested in $4.4M Liberty Bell Jewelry Heist". 21 February 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2017.