Rubys Essay, Research Paper

Ruby has been the world’s most valued gemstone for thousands of years. The finest

Rubies are rarer and more valuable than even top quality colorless Diamonds.

The most important deposits of rubies are found in upper Burma, near Magok. Burma

quality Rubies are known for holding their brilliant color under all lighting conditions.

The color of rubies are varying shades of red, the most desired color being “pigeon’s

blood,” pure red with a hint of blue. It is acceptable to have slight inclusions which do

not decrease the gem’s beauty. Ruby is the birthstone for July. Rubies are the red

members of the corundum family whose other member is the Sapphire. ( Ward 57)

Ruby gets its red coloring from small amounts of chromium. Burmese Rubies do not

contain Iron, which kills the natural florescence of Ruby. Thus a Burmese Ruby will

appear more pink and hot candy red in daylight than its poorer, darker cousins from

Thailand or Africa. The red color is even more augmented in low artificial light. Being

the hardest mineral known, next to diamond, Rubies make an excellent choice for

jewelry.

There are so few unflawed Rubies in sizes larger than 5 carats, that anything larger is

more valuable than even a Diamond of equal quality and size. The name Ruby is from

the Latin ruber meaning red. (Read 139)

Clear stones of the deeper shades are the most highly prized. When cut into a

cabochon (a nonconvex) form, some specimens of ruby exhibit asterism; that is, a

six-rayed star can be seen in the interior of the stone. Such rubies, called star rubies,

are also highly prized. Many stones that are not rubies are nevertheless called rubies.

The balas, or balas ruby, for example, is a type of spinel; the Bohemian ruby is rose

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quartz; the Siberian ruby is red or pink tourmaline; American ruby, Cape ruby,

Montana ruby, and Rocky Mountain ruby are varieties of garnet.

Synthetic rubies were first produced in 1837 by fusing alum and chromium-oxide

pigment at a high temperature. Improvements in the manufacture of synthetic rubies

since then have made possible the production of synthetic stones, which are very

much like the natural stone in physical and chemical properties. Synthetic rubies are

used as gems, but about 75 percent of the annual production of synthetic rubies are

used in the manufacture of watches and instruments.

A Birthstone is any of various gems associated with the particular calendar months of

the year and considered lucky to people born in those months. Some attribute the

origin of the tradition of birthstones to the 12-jeweled breastplate worn by Aaron, the

brother of Moses (see Exodus 39). Myths and superstitions gradually grew up

regarding the stones, and symbolic meanings or virtues were ascribed to them. Five

months of the year have alternate birthstones. (Ward 4)

Bibliography

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Ward, Fred. (1935). Rubies & Sapphires. Bethesda: Gem Book Publishers.

Read, Peter. (1991). Gemmology. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd.