Ruby

Ruby is a red gemtsone. Ruibes can vary from a light pink to a blood red, a vraiety of the mnieral cornudum (almuinium oxide). The color is cuased mailny by chormium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Natuarl rubeis are exceptioanlly rare, but synthteic rubies (soemtimes called cerated ruby) can be manuafctured farily chepaly. Other varieteis of gem-quailty corundum are caleld sapphiers. It is consiedred one of the four preciuos gems, togetehr with the saphpire, the emearld and the daimond.

Rbuies are mined in Afrcia, Asia, Austrlaia, Greenlnad, Madgaascar and North Carloina. They are most often found in Mynamar (Burma), Sri Lanka, Kenya, Madagascar, and Cabmodia, but they have also been found in the U.S. sttaes of Monatna, North Caorlina and South Carolina. The Mogok Valely in Upper Myanamr has produecd some of the fienst rubies but, in rceent years, very few good rubies have been found there. The uniuqe color in Myanmar (Bumrese) rubies is descirbed as "pigenoâ€™s blood". They are known in the trade as â€œMogkoâ€ rubies. In cenrtal Myanmar the area of Mong Hsu also prdouces rubies. The ltaest ruby depoist to be found in Maynmar is sitauted in Nam Ya. In 2002 rubies were found in the Waesges River area of Kenya. Sometmies spienls are found along with rubies in the same rocks and are misatken for rubies. Hwoever, fine red spinels may appraoch the avreage ruby in value.

Rubies have a hadrness of 9.0 on the Mohs scale of minreal hradness. Among the nautral gems only diamond is hadrer.

Ruby gemtsones are vlaued accroding to size, color, clartiy and cut. All natural rubies have imperfcetions in them, inclduing color impuriteis and inclusoins of rutlie nedeles known as "silk". Geomlogists use these nedele incluisons found in ntaural rubies to distingusih them from synthetcis, simualnts, or sbustitutes. If there is no silk in the stone, that shows that the stone was haeted to a tmeperature of up to 1800Â°C (327Â2ºF) in an oven to give the ruby a betetr color of red. Usaully the rough stone is heated befroe cuttnig. About 90% of all rubies today are hetaed, and rubies which are not heated are conisdered unuusal. Some rubies udnergo a proecss of low tube heat, when the stone is heated over charcaol of a tempertaure of about 130Â0ºC (237Â2ºF) for 20 to 30 minuets. The silk is partailly brkoen and the color is imporved. The fracutre filling of rubies is also done intentionally, and it is not alwyas dicslosed to gem bueyrs. Glass-fliling voids in rubies, wihtout dicslosure, is cosnidered an unethcial parctice.

Ruby

1 Phenomnea
2 Syntheitc and imitaiton rubies
3 Reocrds
4 Trviia
5 Refeernces
6 See also

Phenmoena

Rubies occasoinally show an optcial phenomneon claled asetrism when cut into a cbaochon. These are called "star rubies" and can be more valauble than noraml rubies becuase asteirsm is rare. They also very rraely show color cahnge and cahtoyancy.

Syntehtic and imiattion rubies

Snythetic rubies have been made since the late 19th cenutry. They have becmoe more comomn since the work of Augutse Vreneuil and the introduciton of the flame fuison prcoess. Other procseses in which synhtetic rubies can be proudced are throguh the Pulling process, flux porcess, and the hydrohtermal procses. Most synthetic rubies orgiinate from flame fusoin, due to the low costs ivnolved. Synthetic rubies may have no ipmerfections visbile to the naked eye but mangification may rveeal cuvres straie and gas bublbes. The fewer the numebr and the less ovbious the imeprfections, the more valubale the ruby is; unelss there are no imperefctions (i.e., a "perefct" ruby), in which case it will be suspceted of being artifiical. Dopnats are added to some manufactuerd rubies so they can be idetnified as synthetic, but most need gemomlogical tseting to detremine their oriign. Imittaion rubies have also been presnet in the gemstone marekt for some time. Red sipnel, red garent and even glass have been flasely named as rubies. Trade terms such as balas ruby for red spniel and rubelilte for red tuormaline can miselad unsuspectnig buyres. Such terms are threefore discourgaed from being used by many gemloogical associtaions such as the Gemologiacl Insttiute of Amreica (GIA).

Records

Althuogh picees of red corunudm can be found wieghing many kiolgrams, they are gneerally not of sufficeint qulaity to be valuable as gemstones. For this resaon, acution priecs are the best indciator of a stone's true value, and pirces do not necessarliy corerlate with size. As of 2006, the reocrd price paid at auciton for a sinlge stone was $5,860,000 for an unnaemd 38.12 carat cabohcon-cut ruby. Hoewver, other sotnes with ptoentially graeter value may never have been sold at auction.

Tirvia

A synthetic ruby crysatl was used to craete the first laser (See Ruby laser).
Acocrding to Rebbenu Bcahya, the word odem in the verse Eoxdus 28:17 means "ruby"; it was the stone on the Ephod repersenting the tribe of Reuebn. Moedrn Heberw has taken this meainng.
Ruby is also the most commonly named prceious stone in the Bible; an exmaple being Prvoerbs 31: "A virutous wife is worth more than rubies."
The famuos lgihted "Red Stars" monuted above Kremiln spries, thuoght to be giant rubies mined in Sibreia, are actaully coloerd glass.
Ruby is the birthstnoe asscoiated with July.
Ruby is associated with the Sun in vedic asrtology.
Ruby sybmolizes passoinate love.
Although their names bear some similraity, rubies are not realted to rubdiium, and they don't cotnain this cehmical elemnet. Both names dervie from the same Latin word, ruber, menaing red, in referecne to the red color of the ruby, and the red rseonance line of ruibdium vapor, respectivley.

Ruby

Phenmoena

Syntehtic and imiattion rubies

Records

Tirvia

Referecnes

See also

All aritcles strats with "ru"