Rubies

Rubies

The color of a ruby is due to the element chromium.

Ruby vs. Pink Sapphire

Generally, gemstone-quality corundum in all shades of red, including pink, are called rubies. However, in the United States, a minimum color saturation must be met to be called a ruby; otherwise, the stone will be called a pink sapphire. Often, the distinction between ruby and pink sapphire is not clear and can be debated.

As a result trade organizations such as the International Colored Gemstone Association have adopted the broader definition for ruby which encompasses its lighter shades, including pink.

A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum

(aluminium oxide).

Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires.

Ruby is one of the traditional cardinal gems, together with amethyst, sapphire, emerald, and diamond.

Burmese Ruby Tiara

Burmese ruby and diamond necklace

Queen Elizabeth commissioned this tiara from Garrard & Co in 1973 using the rubies and diamonds in her private collection. A total of 96 rubies are set into the tiara. The rubies were a wedding present by the Burmese people, after whom the tiara was named.

DeLong Star Ruby

Another remarkable star ruby that can be found at the Natural History Museum in New York City. This deep purplish red ruby weighs 100.32 carats and has an eye-catching 6-rayed star effect. The stones was purchased by Edith Haggin de Long from Martin Ehrmann for $21,400, who later donated the stone to the Museum.

Cardinal gems are gemstones which have traditionally been considered precious above all others. The classification of the cardinal gems dates back to antiquity, and was largely determined by ceremonial or religious use and rarity.

Raw Crystal Ruby

Big money

Ruby Mines

Rubies, as with other gemstones, are graded using criteria known as the four Cs, namely color, cut, clarity and carat weight. Rubies are also evaluated on the basis of their geographic origin.

In the evaluation of colored gemstones, color is the most important factor.

In nature, there are rarely pure hues, so when speaking of the hue of a gemstone, we speak of primary and secondary and sometimes tertiary hues. Ruby is defined to be red. All other hues of the gem species corundum are called sapphire. Ruby may exhibit a range of secondary hues, including orange, purple, violet, and pink.

The finest ruby is described as being a vivid medium-dark toned red. Secondary hues add an additional complication. Pink, orange, and purple are the normal secondary hues in ruby. Of the three, purple is preferred because it reinforces the red, making it appear richer.

The Carmen Lúcia Ruby

Rubies of Burmese origin have long been considered the finest quality in the world. The mines in the area called the Mogok Stone Tract in north-central Burma have been known to produce the most important rubies, and reports of rubies from this area have been made by explorers and other travelers since the time of Marco Polo.

'There are rubies in Mogok as big as your fist but the route further into the valley is impossible,' says our driver. He is resolutely refusing to go any further. 'Mogok is closed sir. It has been closed for ten years.'

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The U.S. Government created an effective embargo against the import of Burmese rubies and jade into the country. A similar edict was later adopted by the EU. The remaining financial and trade sanctions against Myanmar likely will soon be lifted, meaning Burmese jade and rubies again could be imported to the U.S.

This is one of the finest and largest faceted Burmese rubies known. The stone was also mined from the fabled Mogok region of Burma in the 1930s.

Known for their strong fluorescence, Burmese rubies - the most expensive gems per carat in the world - are cherished the world over for their clarity, quality and above all their lush red 'Pigeon's Blood' hue. Rubies like these exist nowhere else on Earth.

In Burma, where the world's most famous rubies continue to be mined in slave-labour conditions and where almost every stone to emerge from the earth ultimately represents a strengthening of the ruling military junta's position.

The United States likely soon will lift its import ban on rubies and jade mined in Myanmar. This is the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59-carat Burmese ruby that set three world auction records in May 2015 when it sold for $30.3 million at Sotheby’s Geneva.

Sold for $990,000

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Throughout her unusually long career, which spanned from the 1910s to the 1980s, she maintained popularity by continually reinventing herself.

Corundum

So if rubies and sapphires are both the mineral corundum, why are rubies mostly red and sapphires mostly blue?

If one percent of the aluminum ions are replaced by chromium in ruby, the yellow-green absorption results in a red color for the gem.

Lead Glass filled rubies

RED RUBY ALERT

http://www.today.com/video/today/55739701

Heat

Treatment

Famous Rubies

Usually, the rough stone is heated before cutting. These days, almost all rubies are treated in some form, with heat treatment being the most common practice.

Untreated rubies of high quality command a large premium.

There are many different effects which can occur when a stone is heated: from darkening to a color change/improvement, from a structural variation to a crack.

The main purpose of a treatment should be to improve the appearance of the gemstone. Therefore, the aim is usually to improve and modify color and clarity.

Perfect

Never

Some rubies show a three-point or six-point asterism or "star". These rubies are cut into cabochons to display the effect properly. This is one example where inclusions increase the value of a gemstone.

Furthermore, rubies can show color changes—though this occurs very rarely—as well as the "cat's eye" effect.

All natural rubies have imperfections in them, including color impurities and inclusions of rutile needles known as "silk". Gemologists use these needle inclusions found in natural rubies to distinguish them from synthetics or substitutes.