"Red is the most corrupting of colors and ruby the most wicked of gems, the very symbol of desire. Red is fire, blood, the very life-giver itself – passion. If this bothers you, then please shirk the scarlet stone."
- R.W. Hughes, A Guide to Ruby Connoisseurship
Fire, passion, power, blood, fertility. This is ruby, lord of gems and the
birthstone for July. Implant a ruby under your skin like the warriors of ancient Burma for courage and protection in battle. Bury one under your home to bring good fortune. Grind up a ruby and drink the elixir to bring passion and fertility. Or… just wear one on your finger, if you dare.
As one of the toughest and most durable gemstones, ruby makes excellent jewelry. Ruby, like sapphire, is composed of the mineral corundum. Trace impurities incorporated into corundum crystals during their formation give the mineral its color, with chromium oxide causing the red color associated with ruby. Corundum of any other color, including pink, blue, purple, yellow, green, and white, is called sapphire.
Rare high quality rubies, aside from having a lovely red body color, possess the astonishing property of fluorescence. Blue and yellow visible light is absorbed by the crystal and emitted as a pure red light, causing the gem to appear to glow like a red ember. This property was used to produce the first laser beam in 1960. Undoubtedly, this property had something to do with the fiery and supernatural reputation of rubies amongst the ancients.
An exceptional natural ruby with a rich, saturated red color and good clarity is among the most rare and valuable gemstones per carat weight, surpassing even diamonds of similar quality. However, many grades of natural and synthetic ruby are widely available, so you won’t need to rob the crown jewels* to possess the lord of gems today. So go ahead. Don’t shirk the scarlet stone. Wear it if you dare.
*The Black Prince’s Ruby, one of the oldest of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, is now known to be a spinel.
Browse ruby jewelry made by EtsyMetal artists here:
RUBY
Browse scarlet colored jewelry made by EtsyMetal artsits here: RED
-article written by
Mary Anne Karren
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