Gem Ruby With Sapphire Core

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In 1984 Charlie, along with John Barlow, sponsored a collecting trip to Nepal for these. I have his note on the back of an old business card that states, in his opinion, this was the best crystal found. Note the winding core in the middle which is a sapphire core, something rarely seen and in need of some study to figure out why this is going on! There is probably some neat gem rough to be cut from this, with the ruby rind around a purple sapphire core. The specimen is completely WEIRD, in that it tapers from a narrow base to a wider termination which shows multiple trigonal faces. The termination has some damage on the back edge, but not in front. Note there IS one repair about the middle, so its not perfect by any means; but it IS a beautiful and very intense gem crystal that leaps out from a showcase, and the flaws are noted in that context. It is repaired at the midpoint but, you do not really mind so much in person, when the gemminess and intense color impact is taken into account (and otherwise this would be a 10k thumbnail anyhow). The color is not intense, it is almost metallic in "style" and really jumps out.