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Precious Stones-The Big Five
Part 2-The Ruby
By Sam and Tami Serio
Morning Light
Jewelry
What fairy tales of enchanted princesses and legendary lore of the Arabian
Nights does not the mere mention of the ruby conjure up to our
imagination! No stone has been more intimately connected with poetry and
romance, and few gems can compare either in beauty or value with a perfect
ruby. When Solomon exclaimed that "a virtuous woman was more valuable than
rubies," and Job, that "the price of wisdom is above rubies," they both
mentioned what to them was the most valuable thing in existence. And its
value and rarity have not decreased since their time. Today a perfect ruby
of five carats will fetch at least five times the value of a diamond of
the same size and quality, while rubies without flaw or blemish, and of
the true pigeon-blood variety, weighing as much as ten carats, are so rare
and valuable that ten times the value of a perfect diamond would be
considered a very low price to pay for so perfect a gem.
The ruby is the oldest or first known of all precious stones, dating far
back in the early history of Chaldea and Babylonia. The finest specimens,
as well as the largest quantities, are found in Upper Burma, and at the
present time over one-half of the world's supply comes from this locality.
The rubies found in Ceylon, Siam and Australia have not the deep rich
color of the Burmese ruby which is a shade of red slightly inclined to the
purple and is often called "Pigeon Blood Ruby." The value of rubies
depends upon their color and transparency.
The red sapphire or ruby is the most valuable of the corundum family, and
when found of a good color, pure and brilliant, and in sizes of one carat
and larger, it is much more valuable than a fine diamond of the same size.
Rubies and Sapphires are scientifically the same stone, differing only in
color. Corundum, the predominating mineral of both, is composed of nearly
pure alumina. The coloring substance, which differentiates rubies and
sapphires, is believed to be chromium. In the scale of hardness the gem
ranks as No. 9 and is thus the hardest of all substances excepting the
diamond. Color is the most important factor in determining the value of
the ruby. The gem is always more or less imperfect, but its freedom from
bad imperfections is also important. Since fine rubies of all sizes are
extremely rare, the price increases very rapidly with an increase in size,
and a fine ruby of more than four carats commands an extraordinary price
and can be said to be the most valuable of all gems, exceeding greatly a
diamond of equal weight. The color of the ruby varies from the lightest
rose tint to the deepest carmine, but the rarest and most valuable shade
is known as Pigeon Blood. This is the color of arterial blood. The ruby
has always been greatly admired, and many say that the ruby in the British
Crown is the most beautiful gem they have ever seen.
The ruby is found in limestone deposits on side hills, but the largest
quantity is found in alluvial deposits of gravel and clay in riverbeds.
These deposits are about fifteen to twenty feet below the surface and from
a few inches to five feet in thickness. This material called "byon" is
mined or removed and put through a washing process by which the rubies are
recovered.
The genuine ruby is gotten from the mineral known as corundum. Emery, so
much used, is an impure form of corundum. The superbly blood-red color of
the perfect ruby is produced by the very tiny portions of impurity in the
substance after they have been crystallized by Nature's wonderful
processes. All genuine-that is natural stones, contain certain tiny flaws
and blemishes and characteristic peculiarities. The fewer these flaws the
rarer the gem. Imitation stones get their imperfections during
manufacture, and as the chemists are more careful than Nature, these
imperfections are less noticeable. By the following differences between
the real and the artificial, you can test your ruby. A real ruby contains
irregularly shaped bubbles; the imitation ruby contains bubbles that are
perfectly round. Natural rubies all have a silky sheen, due to a number of
tiny parallel lines going in three definite directions; imitation stones
never have this characteristic.
While lab-created rubies and sapphires have a distinct use in jewelry,
they can never affect the sale of the real gems any more than is the case
with imitation pearls. Aside from the fact that the imitation can always
be ultimately detected, the person desiring to purchase a ruby, as a ruby,
and as a work of beauty and distinction wants a gem which he knows is one
of nature's rarities and is therefore possessed of intrinsically great
value. A good illustration of this fundamental feeling is given by Mr.
Zell a noted mineralogist, who says, "Many perfect copies of the Sistine
Madonna have been made by good artists, the original is priceless, the
copies at the most are worth a few hundred dollars, this is the relation
of a gem made in nature's laboratory to one produced by the chemist."
Today, the ruby is still considered one of the most valuable and beautiful
of the precious stones. Artisans of fine jewelry throughout the world
continue to utilize this fine gem in their creations. Ruby is the
birthstone for the month of July
The Authors
of the above Article, Sam and Tami Serio have been passionately involved
with Jewelry and Gemstones for over fifteen-years. You are cordially
invited to visit http://www.morninglightjewelry.com for a wealth of
information about the fascinating world of Jewelry and Gemstones. Together
they also shelter 20 abandoned and abused dogs & cats. A portion of their
profits goes to the care and feeding of the animals.
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