The fiery ruby is regarded as the King of Gems, the most valuable of the colored stones. It was thought to bring the wearer health, wealth and wisdom. It was once thought to shine through clothing and to make water boil! Thousands of years ago, people believed gems had the ability to heal a wide variety of ailments. Rubies were thought to heal wounds and cure blood disorders. The Burmese actually inserted rubies under their skin in order to not get wounded in battle.
Ruby is the birthstone for July. It's name is derived from the Latin word "ruber" meaning red. The finest color ruby is known as pigeon's blood, with a medium dark tone of red to a slight purplish red with vivid saturation. The finest quality source is Burma. Due to the political state and that many ruby mines are exhausted, fine quality rubies are very rare and very expensive. Within the Species of Corundum is the Variety Sapphire, meaning they have the same chemical composition but different coloring agents. For example ruby is colored by chromium while sapphire is generally colored by titanium and iron. Sapphire is all other corundum other than ruby. Corundum is an exceptionally hard stone, 9 on the Moh's scale of hardness, making it an excellent choice for an everyday ring. The only mineral harder than corundum is a diamond. |
