Ruby

Ruby is one of the four major precious gems, together with diamond, sapphire and emerald. It is the most popular red jewelry stone and a type of natural corundum. Ruby owns special shine, strong wear resistance and low reserves in nature, so it is extremely valuable. The main chemical makeup of ruby is aluminum oxide. The chromium element inside it create its bright red color. It scores 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, only softer than diamond.

Perfect clear ruby without any flaw is really hard to find, that’s why natural rubies carry high price tags. But making lab created rubies is not a hard work, you can see man-made rubies widely used in many industrial areas. A natural ruby can only hold real collect value if its transparency reach semi-transparent or higher. Those rubies that are semi-transparent to fully opaque are often made into common jewelry, they do not worth much money at all.

The word “Ruby” comes from Latin word： ruber, which means red.

Ruby and sapphire belong to the same gem group, they crystallize in trigonal crystal system, people also call this whole family corundum.

The red shade inside rubies all come from chromium elements. Some people make a mistake here, they say the main component is chromium oxide, actually it is aluminum oxide with chromium impurity. The chromium content usually ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent.

The most costly type of ruby shows a pure bright red tone with rich chromium content. People name this top grade pigeon blood red ruby.

It is almost impossible to dig out a ruby with zero inclusions or surface blemishes in the world. Flawless natural rubies cost far more than diamonds of the same carat weight.

Burma produce lots of top quality rubies, stones from this origin always sell for very high prices. Collectors and jewelry lovers chase Burmese rubies crazily all over the global market.

Nearly all natural rubies go through different enhancement treatments to boost their look and durability. This processing method is super common inside the jewelry trade, almost every merchant will do this step before selling rough rubies to customers.

I want to share a sincere warning to every buyer. If you travel abroad and spot luxury ruby jewelry in tourist scenic spots, do not buy them easily. Nine out of ten gem goods sold there are fake items. One of my friend took a trip to Thailand years ago, he bought a loose ruby stone and set it into a ring later. After professional lab testing, people told him the stone was totally artificial counterfeit.

If you plan to shop rubies on internet, pick well-known large suppliers first. Two famous platforms are James Allen and Blue Nile. Recently BN and JA merge into one single company, their overall strength become much stronger now. Buying rubies through these official brands can better protect your consumer rights.

Before you place any order, take enough time to read the full gem certificate carefully. Double check if the stone’s shape, carat weight and color match the description listed online. If you still have doubts, send messages to sellers and ask for more specific details. The way staff reply your questions can tell you whether they respect every ordinary customer sincerely.

Also, do not only fix your eyes on ruby size. Larger rubies normally have higher prices, but two other factors decide its value just as important: color saturation and how many inclusions trapped inside the stone. Even a big ruby with pale red tone or full of cracks will not worth a high sum.

Ruby hold a sacred status in the Bible, it is recorded as the most precious gemstone. It also acts as the birthstone for people born in July. Its bright fiery red color stands for energy and vitality. Old beliefs say wearing ruby for a long time can bring happy marriage, smooth life and long healthy years to the owner. European royal families also treat ruby as a necessary jewelry piece in all grand wedding ceremonies.

People use the standard called 1T4C to judge and grade rubies. The letter T short for Transparency, the four Cs represent color, carat weight, cut and clarity. Blue Nile’s colored gem section stocks hundreds of rubies and finished jewelry sets. Every stone page support 360-degree rotating view, so shoppers can check every corner clearly. The color selection range is very wide, you can choose stones from deep pigeon blood red to soft light red at home, no need to visit offline jewelry stores in person.