July Birthstone-Ruby!

Royalty for those July babes with ruby as their birthstone! How fitting for those fiery Leo’s at the end of the month!

Ruby is the red variety of corundum, (sapphire and ruby are the same thing, color is the only thing that classifies them differently). Ruby represents passion, love, and success!

Rubies are found in many places all over the world, but the most sought after come from Myanmar (formerly Burma). Vietnam and Mozambique are also important locations for ruby mining, amongst many others.

Rubies are often treated and imitated. One of the most common treatments to rubies is heating, this removes unwanted colors to produce a more appealing red color. Because heating is common, it is widely accepted in the trade. If you are on the hunt for a ruby, always ask the seller if the ruby has been treated, most people will make you aware of this, however it’s always best to ask! The reason to ask is that a ruby that has not been treated will command a higher price and we all want to get our monies worth. And remember any ruby of significant value will most likely be accompanied by a legitimate lab report from a reputable gem lab such as GIA.

Lab-created rubies are quite common in the market place as well, this should be disclosed to you before you buy, and remember if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

The Basics:

• Mohs Scale: 9

• Mineral: Corundum

• 15th and 40th wedding anniversary gift

Fun Facts:

• Rubies can command the highest price per-carat of any colored stone

• Chromium is the trace element that makes ruby red, otherwise in its purest form it is clear

• Rubies are mentioned 4 times in the Bible

• Warriors in Burma thought that rubies would make them invincible in battle, they would put the rubies under their skin before going into battle