A unique gem with a rich red color, today is one of the most expensive precious stones with the highest value per carat. This is because real rubies are found in nature much less often and increase significantly in price every year.
Ruby, like sapphire, belongs to the corundum group. Having the same chemical composition and structure, but different content of impurities, they differ only in color.
Color
First of all, rubies are valued for their color. They can have a red color with shades of pink, purple, or orange.
The most expensive color is pure spectral red.
Often, the expression "Pigeon's Blood" or "Vivid Red" can be used to denote the top bright red color of a ruby.
The color palette of rubies has more than 400 variants of shades: from light pink to maroon. Admixtures of chromium and iron determine the shade of the stone, and the presence of spots and stripes – uniformity of color.
Specifications
1. Cleanliness
In addition to color, purity can also affect the beauty of a ruby. How many inclusions and cracks the stone contains, and how much they are visible to the naked eye, determines its pricing.
Large accumulations of inclusions can create cloudy areas in the stone. Veils of gas-liquid impurities or solid crystalline inclusions may also occur as natural features. Anyway, if a natural ruby has a beautiful color, then you can not look at purity very strictly.
Do not be afraid of the presence of cracks and inclusions in the stone, because if it does not catch the eye and does not look too contrasting, it does not carry a significant disadvantage. But the ability to recognize such nuances in a timely manner can pleasantly save you a budget.
2. Karatness
Finding a large ruby with good characteristics, weighing more than 1 carat, is a great success. The rarity factor plays a role here: large stones are less common than small ones. The larger the precious ruby, the greater its value per carat.
3. Deposits
Speaking of rubies, it is worth mentioning the Burmese deposits right away. Since the XVIII century, the best specimens have been mined in Burma (Myanmar), and the first mention of stones dates back to the VI century. They are the most popular and have the highest quality.
In addition, rubies from India, Africa, Thailand, Tanzania, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Afghanistan are highly valued.
4. Gentrification
The most common type of refinement of rubies is heat treatment (heating).
To improve the appearance and color alignment, the stones are placed in special furnaces at a temperature in the range of 800-1900 degrees. About 90% of all mined rubies undergo this procedure. Unheated specimens are 2-3 times higher and are much rarer due to their natural rarity.
To make the color more saturated, remove unwanted (purple) shades and fill in cracks, a processing method is used with filling cracks with organic or inorganic matter. This type of refinement is considered unethical, and we do not work with such stones, as we believe that any kind of filling of the stone with foreign substances is considered unacceptable.
Diamond Place Dubai managers will be happy to tell you even more about the subtleties and nuances when choosing rubies.
