„COLLECTORS ARE HAPPY PEOPLE – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe“
Heavenly Stars
The gleaming fiery rays of angel´s hair in a star-like shape, the light shape hovering about the surface of a gem, has fascinated people of all cultures and religions for centuries, if not for thousands of years. Look at the sky in darkness. The stars always shine bright. You have a wish and you wait for the shooting star. Everybody wants to be a star. So much for romance.
Asterism – what is asterism? I like to introduce to you the beautiful and fascinating phenomenon of gems with a star. It is mesmerizing, how 2 or 3 crossing lines, as well as 8 + 12 + 16 + even 24 rayed stars, are dancing with the correct lightning over the surface of a cabochon or a sphere, showing these unreal, cool and intriguing light phenomena. Asterism can be noticed in Epi- and Diasterism (reflected and transmitted light). In the orient, people believe, that these intersecting rays represent “Faith, Hope and Destiny”. Today, more than 50 different star gems including trapiche varieties are known, from A (star almandine) to Z (star zircon).
The Creative Motivation
My first asteriated gem, I collected, was during my studies of gemology at AIGS (Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences) in Bangkok/Thailand in 1983.Then, midst of the 1980, as a young „double“ gemmologist (Thailand and Germany), gradually I realised, that I was going to get addicted to the phemomen of „stars“, also influenced by the Chantabury and the Burmese border star gem markets. My interest was increasing day by day, and finally made the life decision, to collect these asteriated gems to create a new „Star World, a Star Universe“.
The first remarkable star gem of my private star collection originated from the famous Chanthaburi BanKhaCha mining area in Thailand and is a 266 carats! black star sapphire. It was well cut and displayed a good star. Until today, still one of the highlights in my private MPSSC*.
In 1992, I travelled to the American Museum of Natural History in New York and to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC to see the most famous star sapphires and star rubies of the world. „To see with your own eyes is better than to listen to it a 1000 times“ (Chinese wisdom). This visit was an additional motivation on my long way to accumulate all possible stargems.
Today in 2026, am very proud to offer now one of the biggest and most complete private stargems collection in the world!
Star Collection Statistics
This comprehensive compilation consists of about 919 natural star gems and about 285 synthetic/imitation/treated stars, so a total of 1204 different gems.
A rough estimate of their weight of the natural stars:The 0.30 cts to 99 cts star gems weight about 7.278 cts.The „Over 100 cts Club*“ stars weight about 16.809 cts, the „Over 500 cts Club“ stars have about 9.409 cts and the „Over 1000 cts Club“ stars show a weight of about 151.890 cts. So the total weight of all natural stars is about 185.396 cts = 37.079 kilograms.
In the synthetic/imitation/treated stars section, the weight in the 1.03 cts to 99-carat size of stars, is a total of about 3,270 carats and the “Over 100 Carats Club” amounts to 1,764 carats. So, the entire weight of the synthetic, imitation, and treated stars is about 5.034 carats, or 1.01 kilograms.
Overall, the star gem collection comprises 55 different star species and varieties from 31 different countries. They originate from Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Germany, France, India, Japan, Kasachstan, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam and Zambia.
Notable Natural Stars
Well, there are so many highlights to mention, so I just give ann overview of some of the most notable stargems (in alphabetical order):
* A huge star almandine garnet, weighing over 18.000 cts!
* I love my 85-carat „Butterfly Star Bronzite“, extremely rare, really big and very beautiful.
* The 739 cts black star diopsid giant. A fantastic objet d´art and one of the biggest star diopside in the world.
* A star emerald of 5.07 cts, beautiful and very rare, one of 3 star emeralds in the MPSSC.
* The „biggest star iolite in the world“ with 199 cts. Very proud to have it, it took me 3 years to aquire. And his fine, 7.02 cts weighing younger starry brother.
* A 34-carat star peridot, the first star peridot in the world with 8 rays, published in GIA/G&G Fall 2025.
* The big group of star quartzes and star rose quartzes, with their unbelievable star formations and networks and stars in epi- and diasterism. Also their spheres and carved diversities. Furthermore, a star quartzcabochon over 6000 cts! The one-of-a kind „A“ star rosequartz cab with 86.92 cts. A one-in-a-million superstar, the three rays do not meet in the center, forming then the letter “A“.
* The sweet princess: An USA – Colorado Sweet Home Mine star rhodochrosite sphere! of 15.51 cts, (one of two fine star rhodochrosites in this collection), a unique gem, it was pretty long to see on the GIA homepage after GIA`s second last gemmology symposium in 2018.
* Beside many other star rubies, a star ruby over 4000 cts colossus and a 12-rayed Indian star ruby of 1014 cts are included.
Star sapphires, the biggest part of the MPSSC:
*I admire my huge 216-carats 4-star! star sapphire, extremely unusual and also a round 6055 cts star sapphire titan. This giant is not of gem quality but the star is visible and the size!! Additionally, a huge Burmese black star sapphire giant with 740 cts!and a dozen! 100 cts+ star sapphires in different colors. A special part are the double stars, „H“ stars and 12-rayed star sapphires.
* A fantastic deep yellow star scheelite, with 93 cts, extremely rare.
* The 4- and especially 6-rayed! (yet unpublished!) star tanzanites, extremely rare stars. In 2014, I was the first to publish star tanzanites.
* The awesome 281 cts star topaz, super rare and large.
* An 8-rayed! star zircon with 13.60 cts, a very rare gem.
As a gemmologist, I discovered and published these stars worldwide first: a one-of-a-kind star amazonite, the two only known star apatites (4- and 6-rayed), star calcite, star kunzite, the only known star phrenite, star rhodonite – extremely rare, star rutile, a unique star serandite, two super rare star spessartines (4- and 6-rayed)as well as several brandnew 6, 8- and 12-rayed star varieties.
Notable Not Natural Stars
* The famous „Red Devil Star Ruby“, 3.38 cts, plastic-coated, the only one of its kind and published in several books and gemmological magazines.
* A synthetic star ruby giant with 269 cts (the biggest of my 3 stars over 100 cts), – an additionally diffusion-treated synthetic, very red, translucent! with a decent star.
* Additionaly diffused synthetic star sapphires in fine green, intense yellow anddeep orange, all are „too beautiful to be natural“.
* A synthetic star opal egg, 32.38 cts. I bought this unique gem in 2018 in Beverly Hills/Hollywood.
* A synthetic star zincite, 3.25 cts, extremely rare.
* Several gems with scratched stars (a star scratched by hand on a cabochons surface). They were first shown to the public on my banner presentation at the 2011 GIA-Symposium and the newly researched ones during my oral presentation at the 2017 GIA-Symposium.
The Perspective
Finally, I believe in the mission of collecting and collections, was a collector all my life. Of course, in this universe, there are better and bigger and more expensive individual star gems, owned by connoisseurs, investors or businessmen.
But this dedicated life work, this unique and extensive selection of 1204 stars, touching practically every aspect of asteriated gemstones and asteriated gemmology, makes this collection exclusive to a one time chance and a properous occasion for its future owner. In our cosmos, there is only one excisting collection like this available. For my stars, presently, time has come to look for a decent, elegant and friendly new home.
MPSSC*. = Martin P. Steinbach Star Collection.
„Over 100 cts Club“ * = single gems weighing more then 100, 500 or 1000 carats.
Articles by Martin P. Steinbach
https://gem-spectrum.com/tag/martin-p-steinbach/
About the author
Martin P. Steinbach is the first German Accredited Gemologist from AIGS in Thailand in 1983 and also a Graduate Gemologist and diamond expert from the DGemG in Germany in 1982. The „Accredited Senior Gemologist“ diploma from the AGA in USA, he received in 2016. Based in Idar-Oberstein in Germany, he is dealing in gemstones and Burmese jadeite from 1981 until today and already midst of the 1980ties, he specialised in trading all gems with a star phenomena, from super rare to commercial ones, and also, started to collect them intensely for his private – nfs – star collection. Steinbach wrote two books about this phenomena: In 2016, „Asterism – Gems with a Star“. It took him over 30 years to write this 900-pages giant of nearly 9 pounds, suppose to be the international standard compendium about asteriated gems. In 2023 followed “Star Gems – A Fascinating World“, a 444-pages book including a superbe and fabulous 23-pages chapter of „Stars in Exceptional Jewelry“.
Nowadays, Fei Cui carvings are still fascinating him, and very soon, after selling his MPSSC, as an independent privateer then, he will be moving towards his leisure activities music and especially art.
www.star-sapphires.com, instagram: martin__p_steinbach.
