One of the
interesting things with ruby is the context in
which many people use the word ruby or rubies.
A ruby is basically a
gemstone - there are other uses of the word
ruby, sometimes of high value, sometimes not, used
in all kind of jewelry, like ruby ring, ruby
earring, ruby necklace, ruby bracelet, ruby
engagement ring, ruby necklace, ruby and diamond
ring, pendant, ruby stone, ruby, gem stone, ruby
rings, star ruby, man ruby ring, ruby diamond
necklace, ruby jewel, gold ruby ring, ruby bracelets
and many other ruby gloom variants.
Rubies and ruby
jewelry are also very popular as a gift, ruby
engagement rings, for ruby anniversary, ruby wedding
gifts and so on.
Myanmar rubies come from the area around Mogok which
is a real Rubyland. When you have a look for the
photos below you will see how Myanmar ruby are
mined. In the area around the Chanthargyi Pagoda in
Mogok a small hill provides a great panorama of the
town, lake and the surrounding hills.
Myanmar has lost
quite a huge piece of the ruby trade cake since
there is a total lack of sophisticated mining. To
mine Myanmar rube everything is still done the
traditional way as it was done since hundreds of
years ago.
Little
investment is made into Myanmar ruby
mining since all
this is
tightly controlled by the government to
get their share of the precious Myanmar
ruby gem.
Mogok in Upper Myanmar
is the centre of Myanmar ruby and
sapphire mining. "Pigeon’s blood"
Myanmar ruby / rubies, the most prized
of Myanmar ruby / rubies are mined in
Mogok where Myanmar ruby / rubies have
been found for 800 years. The area is
also well known as a source of Myanmar
sapphires which may be violet, green,
yellow or orange in addition to the
usual deep blue. Star sapphire and
star ruby /
rubies from Myanmar, reflecting a
six-pointed star in the light, are
particularly attractive.
Myanmar ruby exploration at
Mogok is done by a
mixture of all tribes and ethnic groups
of Myanmar. Lisus, Shans, Gurkhas,
Kachins, Bamars, Chinese, Shan, try
their luck in the Myanmar ruby gemstone
business, may were lucky in the past to find
some raw Myanmar Ruby and got a lot of
dollars for it, that the stuff legends are
made from.
Myanmar people from Mogok ruby mine area
Mogok open air Ruby Market
More on
Myanmar ruby: ruby, rubies, raw ruby,
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Madagascar ruby,
Myanmar, Burma, rubies, ruby, ruby Tuesday,
ruby ring, ruby red, red spinel,
red tourmaline,
red garnet,
ruby earring,
ruby jewelry, ruby gloom, blue ruby, ruby
necklace, ruby sky, ruby reds,
ruby bracelet,
ruby cheat, ruby engagement ring, ruby mine,
ruby and diamond ring, ruby pendant, ruby
stone, ruby gem
Ruby is also called the
King of Gemstones and it has some true since if the
ruby has the right color and a perfect cut it is a
real beautiful piece of jewel.
Perhaps no gemstone has been as prized throughout
history as the
Ruby.
Celebrated in Bible and in
ancient Sanskrit writings as the most precious of
all gemstones, Rubies have adorned emperors and
kings and inspired countless legends and myths with
their rich, fiery hues.
Ruby is the red
variety of corundum, a sister of Sapphire.
Like Sapphire, Ruby is measured 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, making it the second
hardest material known after diamonds.
Rubies also have been used as a
talisman against danger,
disaster, to stop bleeding, and a
number of other ailments. Its
intense color was thought to come
from an undying flame inside the
stone; or, as some
legends would have it, a piece of
planet Mars.
As the ultimate red
gemstone, rubies have symbolized passion and romance
for centuries.
Ruby is the birthstone for month of
July, and it is recommended for married couples
celebrating their 15th and 40th wedding anniversary.
Also the color of blood, the stone is symbolic of
courage and bravery. Warriors were said to have
implanted Rubies under their skin to bring them
valor in battle and make them invincible.
More on ruby gemstone: star ruby, man
ruby ring, above rubies,
ruby diamond necklace,
ruby version, ruby jewel, ruby sapphire,
ruby mountain, Burmese rubies, diamonds and
rubies, ruby sapphire, rubi tile cutters,
ruby wedding anniversary gift, ruby, rubies
costumes, sapphire rings, ruby lane
antiques, vintage ruby.
Ruby at the Yangon Rangoon emporium
exhibition
Ruby from Myanmar gemstone
at the open air market in
Mogok Myanmar
The most valuable Rubies come from Myanmar, formerly
known as Burma, but they are mined
throughout
Southeast Asia.
Good quality
ruby gems come from
Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
Madagascar is also becoming more important as
a source
for Ruby. Unfortunately most of the Rubies from
Africa have inclusions that diminish
their transparency and value.
However, the East
African stones are displayed to full advantage in
Cabochon cuts and have done well in the mass
jewelry
market. Meanwhile, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia
have all produced occasional top quality Rubies, but
the rough terrain in these areas has made mining
difficult.
The most important factor to consider when
purchasing a Ruby is its color. It comes in a
variety of shades ranging from purplish-red and
bluish-red to orange-red. Like
Sapphire, there is
also a translucent variety of Ruby called Star Ruby
that display
a six pointer star when in a smooth domed Cabochon
cut.
Myanmar Ruby Raw not perfect yet
needs some enhancement
The
finest rubies are intensely saturated, pure red
with no overtones of brown or blue. After color, the
factors that influence value are clarity, cut and
size. Rubies that are clear with no visible
inclusions are more valuable than those with visible
internal flaws.
Rubies are readily available in sizes up to 2
carats, and because of their intense color and
durability, they make excellent jewelry stones.
Larger sizes can be obtained,
but top quality Rubies are rarer and more valuable
than colorless diamonds, particularly in sizes above
5 carats. For instance, a 16 carats Ruby sold at
auction for more than $200,000at Sotheby’s in 1988.
In May 1995, a 27.37 carats Burmese ruby ring sold
for 4 million dollars at Sotheby’s in Geneva,
Switzerland, an astounding $146,145 per carat.
In contrast,
none of the D-color, internally flawless
diamonds over 50 carats sold in the last
decade can match this value per carat.
Rubies are rarely
found perfect in nature, which is why
many are heat treated to intensify or
lighten their color or improve their
clarity. Heat enhancement is permanent,
stable process. Some Rubies also have
surface fractures and cavities that are
filled with glass like materials to improve
their appearance. This filler may break,
fall or wear out over time if exposed to
heat, strong abrasives or constant impact.
for both treated or untreated stones, the
safest cleaning method is to just use soapy
water or a mild commercial solvent and a
brush.
A
ruby is s variant of the mineral
corundum, like sapphire.
The difference between sapphires and
rubies is the color.
A corundum mineral in color red is a
ruby, any other color it's a
sapphire. The birthstone for the
month of July is ruby and together
with sapphire, emerald and diamond,
ruby is one of the four very
precious stones.
The old Romans gave the ruby's name
in Latin, it's ruber which which
means red. Currently about 70 % of
the world's rubies come from Myanmar
or Burma. But there is a new "ruby
kid in the block" its Madagascar.
Madagascar Ruby Mining
With the help of Thai
investors Madagascar is
quickly becoming a major
player in worlds ruby and
sapphire market,
since the main Myanmar production
facilities Mogok, Myanmar's Valley
of Rubies sees no investment into
sophisticated mining. Mogok still
produces the most valuable and rare
ruby called 'pigeon's blood' ruby.
Due to no investment the working
conditions in Mogoks mines are not
the best but in Madagascar its even
worst. Other ruby mining is going
on in Vietnam,
Thailand, Sri
Lanka
and as mentioned before Madagascar. Rubies have been known
and have been high valued since the
antique.
Words about rubies are
in the bible and also India
has a long tradition of ruby
appreciation. The name of the
mineral corundum is a derivative of
the Sanskrit word kuruvinda,
much more on
ruby is here.
Rubies are real hard stuff, only
diamonds beat them in hardness.
Ruby-tipped blades for the cutting
of other very hard materials takes
this into account, but most of these
applications use synthetic rubies.
Synthetic rubies are also used for
jewelry, and make a more affordable
choice, so, watch out.
With
rubies, color is the determining
factor of value, plus clarity.
Less priced rubies are used in less
expensive jewelry, they are more
opaque. Real high quality rubies are
very rare, even more rare than
diamonds, especially stones that are
over 3 carats in weight
A variation of gemstone almost
identical to ruby is spinel. It
comes in lots of colors, most
popular is red. These stones can be
found in the same locations as
authentic ruby, and one of the few
ways to tell the difference between
the stones is by testing its
hardness. Ruby is much harder.
The real difference between ruby
and sapphire are traces of chromium,
which give the red ruby color.
Heart shaped ruby
Sapphire with deep blue color
Myanmar Spinel
More on
ruby: raw ruby, ruby works, ruby arts,
ruby mines, ruby jewelry, Myanmar, Burma,
ruby, gemstones, jewelry, natural ruby, ruby
red, precious stone, precious ruby, star
ruby, synthetic ruby, Burma ruby, corundum,
Madagascar, Thailand, ruby king of precious
stones, jewelry, rubies, sapphire, jade,
jewellery, precious stones
Red Spinel
Ruby Jewelry
Many
beautiful pieces of ruby jewelry
are made with synthetic rubies this
days, or gemstones looking similar
to rubies - like spinel, because it
becomes more and more difficult to
find real good rubies. On the other
hand synthetic rubies are very clear
and have no inclusions since almost
all genuine rubies have some
inclusions or at least small flaws
in them it is a good indicator if a
ruby is genuine or from the lab.
Inclusions naturally always affect
the price of the ruby along with
other factors such as the depth of
the red color, the cut and the carat
size of the ruby.
Ruby Necklace - Earrings - Bracelet
Ruby and Pearls Necklace
Many times
other stones like red spinel, red tourmaline
and red garnet are used instead of rubies,
since they look very similar to a untrained
eye it needs a thorough gemological check of
any ruby jewelry before you purchase it,
since all other red precious stones are
worth much less than a genuine ruby.
Buying ruby jewelry directly from the
jewelry shop in Myanmar will come with a
certification and a official invoice -
no credit cards - to be presented to custom
at leaving Myanmar, that means it is very
unlikely you will be cheated with a false
ruby. In Myanmar, especially in Yangon you
can hire a ruby expert to go with you on a
shopping tour, use
the contact for
info.
If your
budget is not big enough for of authentic
pigeon's blood
ruby jewelry, acceptable
substitutes and synthetic replacements are
easy to find and you can be almost sure no
one will see the difference anyway since
most synthetic rubies cannot be
distinguished from their genuine
counterparts unless a expert is looking at
them. The probability to get cheated with
false rubies is very high in Thailand.
