The Vanderbulge Star Sapphire was believed to be the most valuable sapphire on Earth. It was owned by Mr. Vanderbulge, who had it displayed in his mansion, along with many other fine art treasures. It was stolen by Doctor Hiram Gulliver who was using it to power a miniaturizing ray of his, that he was going to broadcast over television and radio so as to shrink everyone in the world down to two-inches tall, so as to fix the problem caused by the population explosion.