Ruby The Scarlet Stone

Photo: Sotheby's - a 6.13 carat ruby for a mere $89,000 -- Gimme!!!

Let's look at the most fiery gem in the jewelry world: A red, red ruby. The other precious stones are diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds. Of the 4 gems, diamonds are the most common in nature, followed by sapphires, rubies, and emeralds in descending order of rarity.

The name ruby literally means red in Latin (from the word "rubens"). Just like their sapphire siblings, rubies consist of the mineral corundum, except rubies get their vibrant red color from trace amounts of the element chromium. (On the other hand, when titanium and iron are added to the corundrum, the resulting blue gem is called a sapphire. Get it?) As corundums, both rubies and sapphires are one of the hardest stones, rating a 9 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, after diamonds, a 10.

The finest rubies in the world from Burma, now known as  Myanmar rubies, were banned in the United States for 5 years. The ban was imposed to fight an oppressive military regime, plus human rights violations, including child labor in the mines. That ban was lifted in the fall of 2016. The reason why Myanmar (or Burmese) rubies are so prized is due to their desirable hue called "pigeon's blood" -- a vivid red with a hint of blue. 

Photo: Van Cleef and Arpels -- GIMME!!!

Large transparent rubies are rarer and more expensive than diamonds (costing twice as much per carat). Know that (just like sapphires) there are few imperfect rubies in the world, so inclusions in rubies are acceptable as long as they don't affect clarity. "Silk" inclusions are commonly seen in rubies -- they are intersecting needles of the mineral rutile.

As much as I love rubies, I'm not too tempted to buy them these days. Why you may ask? A fine Burmese ruby averages $3,000+ per carat (depending on color and inclusions). But more affordable rubies sourced from other parts of the world (including the USA, Australia and Africa) are often too tiny, cloudy or pink in my humble opinion. What's the point of paying for those? I want a big clean pigeon's blood ruby, don't you? (But not enough to pay the piper, and now I worry about abuses in the mines also. So check before buying.)

Photo: Investmentjewelry - - GIMME!!!

In fact, most modern rubies have been treated to improve their color and strength. Treatments include heat, or lead glass filling (into fractures). While this improves the transparency of the stone, it also makes the gem look more expensive than it really is, therefore the information must be disclosed to a buyer and priced accordingly.

But. If you adore rubies feel free to buy a bauble within your budget to dress yourself up. At the end of the day, jewelry is a thing of beauty only and not an investment anyway. So if you love the scarlet stone, get one and wear it to your beating heart's content!♥♥♥


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