Black Prince's Ruby

The Black Prince’s Ruby is in fact not. It is a large spinel, which resulted in its infamous name “The Great Imposter”. This blood-drenched red stone has an intriguing and violent history. According to record, back in the 14^th century, the stone was pillaged by Don Pedro the Cruel, the king of Castile & Leon, in Spain, from Adu Sai’d, the Prince of Granada , the stone’s original known owner. The “ruby” was next famously owned by the “Black Prince” – Edward of Woodstock, so known because of his success on the battlefield during the Hundred Year’s war. The next conqueror to own the stone was yet another successful warrior, King Henry V. The king had the stone set in his helmet and wore it when he defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt. With some near losses, the gem remained in the hands of British Royalty, where it currently sits at the centre of the Imperial State Crown of England, above the Koh-i-Noor Diamond.

Ruby Spinel
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Black Prince's Ruby A Spinel
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Black Prince's Ruby Hole

Ruby Spinel

It is known as The Black Prince's Ruby but it is, in fact, a 170 carat red spinel. It is sometimes called The Great Imposter and is said to have been stolen in 1371 from the body of the Sultan of. It is “an uncut red spinel called the Black Prince’s Ruby which is set on the front of the Imperial State Crown, one of the British crown jewels.” No doubt about it, the spinel has had a. The Black Prince's Ruby is currently set in England's Imperial State Crown just above the 317.40-carat Cullinan II diamond and is now safely on display-hopefully-in the Tower of London. Another historically famous spinel is the also-misnamed Timur Ruby, now featured in Queen Elizabeth's crown and weighing more than 350 carats.

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Like the Black Prince's ruby, many of the rubies and sapphires in the crown jewels of Europe are actually spinel! This incredible stone began its journey to the British crown jewels in the middle of the 14th century when Don Pedro the Cruel of Castile acquired it, probably through the murder of its previous owner.

The Black Prince’s Ruby is a large, irregular cabochon red spinel weighing 170 carats (34 g) set in the cross pattée above the Cullinan II at the front of the Imperial State Crown of England. The spinel is one of the oldest parts of the Crown Jewels. It has been in the possession of England’s rulers since it was given (if not reluctantly) in 1367 to its namesake, Edward of Woodstock (the “Black Prince”).

All redgemstones used to be referred to as “balas rubies” until 1783 when spinels were differentiated from rubies. The two gemstones can be distinguished on the basis of their chemical properties: a red spinel is a compound of magnesia, iron and chromium, while a ruby is a type of aluminium oxide. The rarity of this spinel, however, is that it is the biggest uncut spinel in the world. The unusual gem has only been polished slightly and has never received a proper cut. Today fine red spinel is actually considered to be rarer than ruby in occurrence and can often be even more valuable.

King Murders Prince

The Black Prince’s Ruby entered the stage of history in the middle of the 14th century as the possession of Abu Sai’d, the Moorish Prince of Granada. At that time, the rule of Castile was being centralized to Seville and the Moorish Kingdom of Granada was being systematically attacked and reverted to Castilian rule as a part of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula. Abū Sai’d, in particular, was confronted by the belligerency of nascent Castile under the rule of Peter of Castile, AKA Don Pedro the Cruel. According to historical accounts, Abū Sai’d wished to surrender to Don Pedro. Don Pedro welcomed his coming to Seville. When Abū Sai’d met Don Pedro, the King had Abū Sai’d’s servants killed and may have personally stabbed Sai’d to death. When Sa’īd’s corpse was searched, the spinel was found and added to Don Pedro’s loot. It is said that the gruesome murder of the Prince sparked a curse that would follow Don Pedro from that day on. The curse was said to have brought misfortune or even death to those who owned the “Black Prince’s Ruby”.

Knight trumps King

Half brother to Peter the Cruel, Henry of Trastámara, led a revolt against Don Pedro. Lacking the power to put down the revolt unaided, Don Pedro made an alliance with the Black Prince. The revolt was successfully put down and the Black Prince demanded the ruby in exchange for the services he had rendered. While historians speculate that this was contrary to Don Pedro’s desires, he had just suffered a costly civil war and was in no position to decline. It can be assumed that the Black Prince took the Ruby back to England, although it is absent from historical records until 1415.

A wartime adornment

During his campaign in France, Henry V of England wore a gem-encrusted helmet that included the Black Prince’s Ruby. In the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415, the French Duke of Alençon struck Henry on the head with a battleaxe, and Henry nearly lost the helmet, along with his life. The battle was won by Henry’s forces and the Black Prince’s Ruby was saved. Richard III is supposed to have worn the gemstone in his helmet at the Battle of Bosworth, where he died.

Crown Jewels

Henry VIII’s inventory of 1521 mentions “a great balas ruby” set in the Tudor Crown, thought to be the Black Prince’s Ruby. It remained there until the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century. With the exception of the Coronation Chair and several other items, Cromwell had the principal symbols of the king’s power – the Crown Jewels – disassembled and sold, and the gold was melted down and made into coins. What happened to the Black Prince’s Ruby, during the Commonwealth of England is not clear, but it came back into the possession of Charles II when the monarchy was restored in 1660. At the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, she was crowned with a new Imperial State Crown made for her by Rundell and Bridge, with 3,093 gems, including the spinel at the front. This was remade in 1937 into the current, lighter, crown. A small plaque on the reverse of the gemstone commemorates the crown’s history.

Article References:

https://www.gia.edu/spinel-history-lore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Prince%27s_Ruby

http://www.thepracticalgemologist.com/jewelry-history-1/2016/10/28/not-what-it-seems-the-black-prince-ruby?rq=black%20prince

definition - black prince s ruby

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Ruby Rube Dark Prince Series

Wikipedia

The Black Prince's Ruby is a bead-shaped spinel weighing roughly 170 carats (34 g), approximately the size of a chicken egg. It is currently set in the cross pattée above the 317.40 carats (63.48 g) Cullinan II in the front of the Imperial State Crown. The Black Prince's Ruby is one of the oldest of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, with a known history dating back to the middle of the 14th century and having been in the possession of the British kings since it was given in 1367 to its namesake, Edward of Woodstock (the 'Black Prince').

2History

Spinel

Black Prince's Ruby A Spinel

Until fairly modern times, all red gemstones were referred to as 'rubies'. It was only relatively recently that the rarer ruby has been differentiated from the more common spinel. The two gemstones can be distinguished on the basis of hardness and density, namely that a ruby is slightly harder and denser than a spinel. The two stones can also be told apart by their optical properties: a true ruby is dichroic while a spinel is singly refractive. The rarity of the spinel in this case though, makes it the biggest, uncut spinel in the world, given that it has only been polished slightly, but it hasn't received a proper cut gemelogically speaking.

History

Don Pedro of Seville

The Black Prince's Ruby enters the 'stage of history' in middle of the 14th century as the possession of Abu Said, the Moorish Prince of Granada. At that time, the rule of Castilian Spain was being centralized to Seville and the Moorish Kingdom of Granada was being systematically attacked and reverted to Spanish rule as a part of the ChristianReconquest of Spain. Abu Said in particular was confronted by the belligerency of nascent Castile under the rule of Pedro of Castile, also known to history as Don Pedro the Cruel. According to historical accounts, Abu Said wished to surrender to Don Pedro, but the conditions he offered were unclear. What is clear is that Don Pedro welcomed his coming to Seville. It is recorded that he greatly desired Abu Said's wealth. When Abu Said met with Don Pedro, the don had Said's servants killed and may have personally stabbed Said to death himself. Upon searching Said's corpse, the spinel was found and added to Don Pedro's possessions.

In 1366, Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, Henry of Trastamara, led a revolt against Don Pedro. Lacking the power to put down the revolt unaided, Don Pedro made an alliance with the Black Prince. The revolt was successfully put down and the Black Prince demanded Abu Said's ruby in exchange for the services he had rendered. While historians speculate that this was contrary to Don Pedro's desires, he had just suffered a costly civil war and was in no position to decline. It can be assumed that The Black Prince took the Ruby back to England, although it is absent from historical records until 1415.

Origin

It is possible the gem originates from the historic ruby mines in Badakshan - present day Tajikistan.^[1]

A wartime adornment

During his campaign in France, Henry V of England wore a gem-encrusted helmet that included the Black Prince's Ruby. In the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415, the French Duke of Alençon struck Henry on the head with a battleaxe, and Henry nearly lost the helmet, along with his life. However, the Battle of Agincourt was won by Henry's forces, Henry did not die, and the helmet was preserved along with the Black Prince's Ruby. Richard III is reported to have also worn the Black Prince's Ruby in his helmet at the Battle of Bosworth Field where he died.

Timur Ruby Images

Crown jewel

James I had the Black Prince's Ruby set into the state crown near the turn of the 17th century, where it remained until the time of Oliver Cromwell. With the exception of The Coronation Chair, and several other minor items, Cromwell had the principal symbols of the king's power within the Crown Jewels disassembled and sold, having the metal melted down and made into coins. A British jeweller bought the Black Prince's Ruby in the days of the Commonwealth, but sold it back to the crown (Charles II) when the monarchy was restored in 1660.