Jewelry insiders at the JCK Luxury Show in Las Vegas this past weekend were treated to a rare and radiant experience: an in-person viewing of Jack Abraham’s "Royal Ruby Collection," a $10 million suite of five natural, unheated rubies, each sourced from a different exotic location. Representing over 40 years of passionate collecting, this one-of-a-kind ensemble is the masterwork of Abraham — known across the industry as the “Ruby Baron” of New York.
We had the honor of meeting with the octogenarian and witnessing the rubies firsthand — each glowing with a unique hue and story that reflects its country of origin: Burma (Myanmar), Tajikistan, Thailand, Mozambique and Madagascar.
Together, the five stones total 53.53 carats, with individual weights ranging from 7.11 to 17.88 carats. Each ruby has been carefully set in handcrafted platinum and 18-karat gold rings, selected to highlight the gem’s shape and personality.
Abraham’s favorite color is red and his ruby journey began in 1979 with the acquisition of a rare, 5.79-carat, no-heat Thai ruby — an increasingly scarce gem due to depleted mines in the region. Over the decades, he sought out equally extraordinary rubies from other famed origins, upgrading and curating the collection until it formed a perfectly balanced global quintet.
What distinguishes the Royal Ruby Collection is not only its beauty, but its rarity and geological significance. According to Abraham, each ruby in the collection has unique color traits, mineral content and origin-specific characteristics.
This exceptional suite debuted publicly in 2024 at the grand reopening of the Peabody Museum’s Gem and Mineral Hall at Yale University, where it took center stage among some of the world's most important natural treasures. The museum’s gem advisory board chairman, Cap Beesley, personally invited Abraham to exhibit the rubies, calling the collection “one of the most significant ever assembled.”
At JCK in Vegas, the rubies once again drew awe and admiration — not only for their vibrant reds and near-flawless clarity, but also for what they represent: decades of expertise, unrelenting pursuit and a love for rubies.
Though several interested ruby buyers approached Abraham at the show, he remains reluctant to break up the set. Ideally he'd prefer to see them kept together, perhaps in a museum exhibit to be enjoyed by the masses.
Credit: Image courtesy of Jack Abraham.