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 c
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.