Ruby
"The Ruby not only stands in the very
foremost class of coloured gems, but it occupies
among precious stones in general a position
which is unquestionably supreme".
Edwin Streeter, Precious Stones and Gems (1898)
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Edwin
Streeter, author and renowned
Victorian gemstone merchant and
jeweller, was so famous he received
a cameo in Sir Haggard's 'King
Solomon's Mines' |
The mighty 'rubinus lapis', the red stone,
Ruby is without a doubt the pin-up girl of the
gem world. She's the fiery scarlet starlet
everyone wants to love. The oriental 'gem of the
sun', Ruby was once known to the Indians as 'ratnaraj',
the king of gems, but for me, Ruby will always
be a queen. The colour of passion, love and
romance, Ruby's intense crimson colours have
mystified, entranced and romanced since she
burst on to the scene over 2,500 years ago. Like
many a schoolboy, I read Sir Henry Rider
Haggard's classic adventure, 'King Solomon's
Mines', filled with captivating fables, exotic
locales and colourful 'stiff upper lip'
characters, but little did I know that one of
them was real. Edwin Streeter, the legendary
Victorian gemstone connoisseur, actually existed
and having made (and lost) his fortune trading
gemstones, he's an intriguing personality. But
my passion for Ruby was born in Thailand, the
middle point for 90 percent of the world's
Rubies, as they journey to waiting admirers
around the globe.
Ruby is the 'big red' in the 'big four'
quartet, along with Diamond, Emerald and
Sapphire. Ruby and Sapphire are colour varieties
of the mineral Corundum (crystalline aluminium
oxide), which derives its name from the Sanskrit
word for Rubies and Sapphires, 'kuruvinda'.
Corundum produces 'other coloured' gemstones
(click here for more), meaning that trace
amounts of elements such as chromium, iron and
titanium are responsible for producing
its rainbow of colours. Corundum's reds are
called 'Ruby' and its other colours are called
'Sapphire'. You can learn about Blue Sapphires click here, its other colours
click here,
and the differences between Ruby and Pink
Sapphire click here. Ruby gets its name from the Latin 'ruber',
which means red. While many red gems were called
'Ruby' until the development of scientific
gemmology in the 18th century, during antiquity,
Ruby, Garnet, Spinel and other red gemstones
were collectively called 'carbunculus' ('little
coal' in Latin). Known as 'anthrax' (live coal)
to the ancient Greeks, these gemstones were
beautiful deep red gems that became the colour
of glowing coal embers of a fire when held up to
the sun. Believe it or not, they were apparently
sourced from the East Indies! Before you
discredit the likelihood of our European
ancestors having access to Asian gemstones, note
that Sri Lankan Rubies may have been available
to the Greeks and Romans as early as 480 BC.
Carbunculus is 'carbuncle' in English and this
word was also once used to describe red
gemstones. For example, in the King James Bible,
Ruby and its namesake 'carbuncle' score several
mentions.
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Ruby & Diamond
18K Yellow Gold Ring |
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Not surprisingly, the myths and historical
allure associated with Rubies is as colourful as
its red hues. Ancient Indians believed Ruby to
possess an internal fire that would not only
endow a long life, but could even help you bring
the kettle to the boil! In the middle ages,
Rubies, like so many other gems, were believed
to possess prophetic powers, deepening in colour
if bad moons were rising. Worn by the Burmese as
a talisman to protect against illness,
misfortune or injury (not surprising,
considering their 'blood-like' colour), Rubies
were once known as 'blood drops from the heart
of the mother earth'. In the 19th century, Ralph
Waldo Emerson penned one of my favourite poems,
describing Ruby as "drops of frozen wine from
Eden's vats that run" and "hearts of
friends, to friends unknown". Today, Ruby is
the official birthstone for July.
Ruby is one of the rarest of the
better-known gemstones. Far rarer than Diamonds,
and excluding Imperial Jade and some uncanny
natural Diamond colours, Ruby is also the
world's most expensive gemstone. To put this
into context, in 2006 a London jeweller,
Laurence Graff, parted with a record-setting
$3.6 million for an 8.62 carat Ruby ring, which
works out to an amazing $425,000 per carat! Just
remember, even though they are one of the
world's most expensive gems, as with everything,
quality determines price. When it comes to Ruby,
the intensity and purity of its
signature reds are where the value lies. While
Ruby's 'pure' reds are the Holy Grail, they
seldom exist. As a diochroic (two-coloured:
purplish red and orangeyred) pleochroic gemstone
(click here for more), even the 'finest' Ruby
is still going to be only around 80 percent pure
red, with secondary splashes of orange, pink,
purple and violet. With Ruby, colour preferences
are extremely subjective and even experts
disagree on what's best. The reliable Goldilocks
maxim, not too dark or too light, just right, is
good advice, certainly with respect to getting
your head around paradigms and prices. While
intense bright colours are the happy medium and
the marketplace ideal, you should always listen
to your heart. Ruby that is too dark (garnet-esque),
too light, too orange or too purple will be
priced accordingly. The problem is how dark,
light or secondary-coloured a Ruby is
subjective.
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Tanzanian
Ruby, also know as Songea Ruby, is
from a deposit just outside the town
of Songea in Tanzania that was only
discovered in 1992. The 'AAA' prefix
is occasionally used to denote top
qualities |
Some favour a splash of violet or purple
that gives heart-warming burgundies, while
others prefer a bit of orange. In Ruby, a touch
of orange is the steroid that gives it Ferrari
racing car reds. Lastly, other people are
seduced by the oft unattainable perfection of
the classic fire engine reds. To further confuse
the situation, the less intense shades often
look better in low lighting conditions, such as
candlelit dinners, where jewellery is frequently
warn. I actually favour a richer crimson than
most, the historic 'beef blood', as long as its
faceting affords brilliant flashes of red. The
aesthetic impact of colour unevenness due to
zoning (location of colour in the crystal versus
how the gem is faceted) or excessive windowing
(areas of washed out colour in a
table-up gem, often due to a shallow pavilion)
is also an important value consideration for
Ruby. Finally, pay attention to how transparency
and inclusions affect Ruby's colour, beauty, and
subsequently value. While a gemstone's colours
should ideally remain beautiful in any light
source, Rubies usually look their best when
viewed outdoors in natural light or under
incandescent lights. This is the exact opposite
to their Corundum cousin, Blue Sapphire, who
loathes incandescent light. Most Rubies display
a strong glowing electric red
fluorescence in natural light and, along with
silk (see below), this softens the impact of
areas of darkness in a table-up gem
(extinction). While Thai, Cambodian and
Tanzanian (Songea) Rubies lack strong
fluorescence due to their high iron content, its
absence isn't the 'kiss of death' and doesn't
necessarily denigrate. At the end of day, beauty
might be in the eye of the beholder, but it will
always be tempered by what you can afford. A
couple of antique terms used to describe colour
in Ruby, which are actually a little yucky, are
'pigeon's blood' (a rare and valuable Burmese
Ruby colour) and 'beef blood' (richer reds,
perhaps somewhat reminiscent of red Garnets).
Not resonating with modern times, these have
pretty much fallen by the wayside.
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Until the beginning of the 20th
century, there was a historical
propensity for Rubellite to be
confused with Ruby. You can read
more about this on
click here
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Chromium is the trace element that gives some Rubies
their characteristic reds, but as far as clarity
is concerned, it's a double-edged sword. Just
like it does with the clarity of Alexandrite and
Emerald, chromium throws an inclusion fiesta in
Ruby. While both Ruby and Sapphires are classed
as Type II gemstones (gems that typically grow
with some minor inclusions in nature that may be
eye-visible), Rubies are usually more included
and smaller. While an eye-clean clarity
(no visible inclusions when the gem is examined
six inches from the naked eye) is desirable,
ultimately your tolerance for inclusions is best
left to your own judgement. Just consider how
clarity impacts a Ruby's colour and beauty. My
wife is a July baby and the Ruby I selected for
her has a few eye-visible inclusions. For me,
these are totally acceptable, lending the gem
character. The confusing thing is that fine
microscopic rutile inclusions (called 'silk') in
some Rubies can actually softly distribute
light, boosting both beauty and value. Just remember that perfection in nature is a
rare commodity indeed; an eye-clean Ruby is
extremely rare.
Once you've settled on a colour you like,
look for a good shape and overall appearance.
Any fine quality Ruby above 3 carats is
difficult to source, but when a fine quality
Ruby clears 5 carats you've got a trophy gem on
your hands. While ovals are the most common,
Rubies are available in a huge array of shapes
and cuts. Ruby is also cut 'en cabochon' (click
here for more), not only for its star
varieties, but also for examples whose clarity
makes them unsuitable for faceting.
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Star Ruby & Diamond 9K Yellow
Gold Ring
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While Sri Lanka might be the oldest source,
the 'classic' origin for Ruby is the Mogok
Valley in north-central Burma. Today, Ruby is
also mined at Möng Hsu (pronounced 'Mong-Shoe')
in Burma's northeast. Burma is still regarded as
the world's finest source because of its Ruby's
classic colours (body colour plus fluorescence)
and transparency. Burma was so synonymous with
Ruby that 'Lord of the Rubies' was one of the
titles of the ancient kings of Burma. Other
sources for Ruby include Afghanistan, Cambodia,
China, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam.
In 'The Book of Marvels', published in the
13th century, famed traveller Marco Polo says,
"You must know that Rubies are found in this
Island (Sri Lanka)… and the King of this Island
possesses a Ruby which is the finest and the
biggest in the world… It is about a palm in
length, and as thick as a man's arm; to look at,
it is the most resplendent object upon earth; it
is quite free from flaw and as red as fire".
Now you're clever to the intricacies of judging
quality in Ruby, you can only imagine the ticket
price of this gemstone if it still existed
today. But whether you're a billionaire or a
bargain shopper, there is still a Ruby for you.
One of the most seductive gemstones, Ruby has
been the gemstone beauty queen since antiquity;
I just hope she remembers to call!
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Star Ruby
Due to an optical special effect called
'asterism' or the 'star effect', parallel
needle-like inclusions create a reflected
luminous star of light that moves across the
gemstone. For Corundum, reflections from a whole
host of tiny rutile needle inclusions, also
known as silk, cause their stars. A unique and
rare gemmological phenomenon, Star Rubies were
sometimes known as 'the three swords' in Europe,
due to their alleged ability to banish evil,
bring good luck and help find a good spouse. All
star gems are dependent on a gem being cut 'en
cabochon' (cut in convex form and highly
polished, but not faceted). Assessing cabochons
is straightforward - just look at their finish,
shape and proportion, favouring attractive
smooth domes with a desirable symmetry. While
asterism is most visible in a direct, single
beam of light, a well-cut star gemstone has a
distinct star whose rays are straight and
equidistant. The norm is a six-rayed star, but
12-rayed stars also occasionally occur. In Star
Ruby, the distinctiveness, intensity and
transparency of the red body colour are also
important value considerations. Star Rubies that
are too dark, too grey or too violet will be
priced accordingly. While the gem gravels of Sri
Lanka are the world's 'classic' source, having
supplied this gemstone for over 2,000 years,
other modern sources include Burma, India,
Madagascar and Mozambique.
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Noble Red Spinel
Spinel derives it name from either the Latin
'spina' (thorn), for its characteristic
octahedral crystals or the Greek 'spintharis'
(spark), in reference to its bright red hues.
This is despite the fact that Spinel actually
occurs in a plethora of colours, including blue,
orange, pink, purple and red. While Red Spinel was recognised as a separate gem species
in 1587 and scientifically distinguishable from
Ruby since 1783, it continued to be confused
with Ruby until the 19th century. Both the
legendary 352 carat 'Timur Ruby' and the 170
carat 'Black Prince's Ruby' in the British
Imperial state crown jewels in the Tower of
London are… you guessed it, Spinel! Because it
is the 'master of disguise', Spinel has scant
historical references, but they were reportedly
used by practitioners of the 'dark arts' to
summon demons. Confused due to the proximity of
their deposits and trace amounts of chromium,
Noble Red Spinel and Ruby are actually fairly
easy to tell apart. Spinel is singly refractive,
while Ruby is doubly refractive. While highly
saturated pure reds with good transparency are
the benchmark, simply select a colour you find
beautiful, with a good shape and overall
appearance. Spinel that is too brown or too pale
is priced accordingly. A colour variety related
to Noble Red Spinel is the aptly named, Flame
Spinel (orange-red), while 'Balas Ruby' is a
historical name for Red Spinel originating
from either Badakshan in Tajikistan or the
Balaksh region of Sri Lanka. Good cutting that
accentuates its inherent brilliance is also an
important value consideration. While Spinels are
Type II gemstones, meaning they typically occur
with some minor inclusions that may be
eye-visible, the standard is eye-clean (no
visible inclusions when the gem is examined six
inches from the naked eye), except in lighter
colours or in larger gems. Usually cleaner than
Ruby, Spinel is also rarer and more affordable;
all things being equal, a Noble Red Spinel will
cost much less than a similar quality Ruby. One
of the gem industry's best kept secrets, this
beautiful gemstone's public recognition and
marketing impact is limited by its low
production. Sources include Burma (Mogok),
Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania and
Vietnam.
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In July 2008, President Bush enacted the Tom Lantos
Block Burmese JADE Act. Designed to
punish Burma's brutal ruling military
regime, this act closes previous
loopholes, totally banning the
importation of Burmese Rubies and Jade
into the United States. One can only
guess how this will work in practice as
Burmese Rubies share mineralogical
similarities with Rubies from some other
locales. The ICA (International Coloured
Gemstone Association), of which I am a
member, criticised the legislation's
effectiveness out of a concern as to how
it impacts independent and poor
populations engaged in mining,
processing, and trading activities in
Burma and other countries, with ICA
President Andrew Cody stating, "Those
who will suffer are the very people that
the legislation was intended to
protect". |
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