Ruby

Facts

For thousands of years, Ruby has been considered one of the most valuable gemstones on Earth. With its wonderful color, excellent hardness and overwhelming brilliance, Ruby is extremely rare and valuable, especially in the finer qualities.

Ruby, the birthstone for the month of July and the recommended gift for the 15th and 40th wedding anniversaries, is classified as a precious stone. Depending on quality, it can be rarer and more expensive than a diamond.

Because the most desirable trait of a ruby is its rich red color, many jewelers consider color the most important evaluation criterion. The true color of a Ruby is red; the best quality is called "pigeon blood red".

Ruby, like sapphire, is a member of the corundum mineral family. Chromium is the chemical that gives ruby a differentiating characteristic, and its rich, red color. Ruby has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale and is therefore extremely tough.

Fascination

Red is the color of love, passion and power, emanating warmth and a strong sense of life. Red is also the color of Ruby, the king of gemstones.

A ring set with a precious Ruby does not symbolize a calm and moderate sympathy, but rather passionate and unbridled love.

Ruby is also a symbol of happiness and good fortune.

Caring For Ruby

After removing your ruby jewelry, wipe it with a soft cloth to remove dirt and other residues. You can also use either an ultrasonic cleaner or a solution of one part ammonia and six parts water to clean ruby jewelry at home. If cleaning by hand, gentle scrubbing with a soft brush should loosen most dirt and greatly increase the brilliance of your ruby, but be careful not to scratch the metal of your setting.

Store your gemstone jewelry in a case or a soft cloth, so the gems do not touch each other or parts of other jewelry. Rubies are harder than gold, silver, or platinum and can scratch the surfaces of your other fine jewelry if they are not kept separate. You should also avoid spraying perfume, hair spray, and cleaning solutions around rubies.

Normal wear and tear will eventually weaken prongs and other metal components of your jewelry. As a result, it is good policy to have a professional jeweler examine your jewelry once a year. If necessary, a professional can repair prongs, ring shanks, and necklace clasps, and resize ill-fitting rings. While your jewelry is being handled by a professional, he or she can give your jewelry a professional cleaning and arrange to have a gem re-polished if it has been damaged by daily wear.