Rubies
The red ruby is one of the most evocative of all precious gems. Red colour can symbolise so much, from love and passion through to blood and danger, from life to death. Popular ruby jewelry on sale today includes rings, earrings and pendants.
What Are Rubies?
A ruby is a form of a stone called corundum with a red hue caused by the presence of chromium trioxide. The exact colour of the stone can vary from subtle pink to deep red to dirty reddy brown. The name ruby comes from the Latin word rubeus which means simply "red".The ruby is actually very closely related to the sapphire. Both are forms of corundum, the only difference being the colour: red corundum is ruby, all other colours are red. The reason for this is historical since it was previously thought that ruby and sapphire were different stones.
To be of serious value a ruby stone should be transparent. Natural transparent rubies are very rare, the majority coming from Myanmar. Myanmar was formerly known as Burma and you can still buy "Burmese rubies".
Many of the rubies you can buy in today's jewelry are in fact artificially created stones. The Verneuil process for creating synthetic rubies was introduced in 1902 and the best Verneuil rubies can only be distinguish from natural stones by an expert.
Star Rubies
Some rubies display a six pointed star under bright lights, a property known as asterism. These star rubies are rare in nature however affordable artificial versions can be created in the lab. These created star rubies usually "star" more easily, even in low light.