Think of ruby and you think RED, visualize the color RED, and Ruby may also come to mind (hopefully before beets or tomatoes). This is the only member of the corundum family that isn’t called Sapphire, and it is generally the most valuable. Second in hardness to diamond, rubies are as durable as they are beautiful. The color can range from a deep bluish red, to a pinkish red to a purplish red. The famous “pigeon's blood” Burmese ruby is a purplish red, they are seldom described gemologically as “red”. Stones that are lighter pink are called pink sapphires, lighter purplish stones are violet sapphire. This color grading is subjective, and there can be overlap in the descriptions. A stone may be called a ruby by one person and be considered a pink sapphire by the next. (I sometimes think this depends on whether the person is buying or selling the stone...)
Historically, the finest natural rubies were those from Burma’s Mogok region, and this remains true today. The country is now Myanmar, and has suffered terrible political upheaval, and internal strife. The United States has imposed an embargo on importation of Jadeite, and gemstones from Myanmar into the United States, even requiring documentation that the material did not originate in Myanmar, and was cut elsewhere. This has resulted in a lack of fine ruby in the marketplace, and a dramatic spike in the price of Burmese Ruby already here.
Rubies were long treasured and referred to in literature for thousands of years. Until the 1800’s however, spinel and garnet were often called “ruby” as well due to their strong red color. The name comes from the Latin word rubrum, (red). It was during the early 1800’s, when more precise testing techniques were being developed to scientifically classify gem materials, that ruby and sapphire were both found to belong to the corundum family. Interestingly, the famous Black Prince’s Ruby in the British crown jewels was found to be a red spinel.
Corundum is found in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Australia, in some parts of Africa, but the standard remains Burmese for rubies. In an effort to make inferior rubies, and sapphires look better, artificial treatments have developed at a tremendous rate. The nearly universal heat treatment has given way to diffusion, and glass filling. A large number of large, inexpensive rubies have been flooding the marketplace, most often through the Internet. They do look enticing in pictures, and even up close, but it is imperative that these treatments be disclosed to the buyer – and they usually are not. I have also seen a couple examples of lab created rubies that have been treated (or mistreated) to look like natural rubies.
Star rubies are relatively opaque stones which when properly cut will display a six-pointed star when viewed in bright light. This phenomena is called “asterism” and is due to thin needle like inclusions of rutile crystals called “silk” which scatter the light entering the stone. Stones with strong color and a well-defined star are dramatic and valuable but rare, a few truly magnificent examples have been found in Burma. Most often stones offered as star ruby will be from India and more of a dull red, or plum color, still lovely stones are available often at a nominal price. High quality star ruby and sapphire have become relatively difficult to find, and this goes back to the heat treatment of the material. The heat treatment will remove the rutile crystals and make the stone facetable – and far more valuable.
Ruby was believed to attract wealth to it’s owner and was especially potent if engraved with the image of a snake or dragon. In India Rubies were believed to help their owner to obtain other precious gems. It was protective against all foes, evil spirits, magic spells, plague and famine (strong stuff). Soldiers sought to carry ruby to guard against wounds in battle. Jewelry set with rubies will banish sorrow and negative thoughts.
With such a list of “benefits” it is not surprising that the effort to imitate rubies started centuries ago as well. Red glass, and red doublets (two dissimilar materials cemented together to imitate a natural stone) were manufactured. These were imitations and did not share the unique properties found in natural rubies. Ruby was one of the earliest gemstones to be produced synthetically for industrial and commercial use (in the late 1800's to early 1900's). Synthetic stones share the crystal structure and composition of natural stones and are far more difficult to distinguish from natural stones. Careful microscopic examination is required to differentiate a natural ruby from a synthetic ruby. The “lab created” rubies are beautiful stones, and can be purchased for far less than natural stones, especially if you are looking for larger sized stones.
Even today doublet stones are being created, which have a natural corundum cap cemented to a synthetic ruby backing. The corundum cap will be of poor color, but will have inclusions typical of a natural ruby. The red backing will give the overall stone a strong red color when viewed face up. Set into jewelry these stones can be difficult to detect.
When shopping for rubies look for a good strong color that is pleasing to you. Know who you are buying them from, there are a lot of imitations and synthetics out there! As a gemologist I will generally select unmounted stones for my clients so we can be sure we’re getting the best stone for the money. Compared with the value of a good ruby (like diamonds) the setting is generally the smaller part of the investment! Choose carefully and you too will find that ruby jewelry will indeed “banish sorrow and negative thoughts”!
