4 rare rubies found in North Carolina could fetch millions

RALEIGH, N.C. — A collection of four rare star rubies found in North Carolina has made it to a New York auction house, and it's expected they could be worth more than $90 million.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the rubies were discovered outside of Asheville in 1990. Collectively, they weigh 342 carats. They're called the "Mountain Star Ruby Collection," and most rubies like this one are considered rarer and more valuable than diamonds of comparable size.

Guernsey's, a New York-based auction house, said Jarvis Wayne Messer of Buncombe County discovered the stones, after which they were examined by leading geological testing labs in the U.S. and Europe. An exhibition of one stone at the Natural History Museum in London drew a record 150,000 people over two weeks.