Beginner’s Guide to Buying a Ruby Gemstone

What are Rubies?

R11954 | right | medium | play | “Stone ID : R11954 – Weight : 2.13ct – Origin : Myanmar”Rubies are variety of corundum . Pure corundum has no coloration; with the vivid red ruby color comes from trace amounts of the element chromium (Cr). Like other precious stones, finding facet-quality , ruby material usually requires miners to go through tons of rock material before finding any rough, uncut crystals that qualify. Most rubies come from two sources: Myanmar, better known as Burma, and Mozambique. Burmese rubies are considered the standard for rubies since Myanmar is the historical producer of the gem. Mozambique rubies have a notably different appearance, appearing somewhat darker and clearer. Other sources can produce material of overlapping color and quality, since ruby material produced from each location is a range of colors and inclusions, though some have region-specific characteristics.

When choosing a ruby, note that finding one with perfect color, clarity, and cut in anything above a carat will be difficult since they are incredibly rare, especially an untreated stone (over 97% of mined rubies are treated). As such, the Natural Ruby Company is equipped to help find a ruby that suits your tastes based on the 4Cs of gemstone buying:

• Color
• Cut
• Clarity
• Carat Weight

Ruby Color

When discussing ruby color, it is also necessary to mention that the point between the “pink sapphire” and “ruby” is a heavily contested topic in the gem industry. Every stone is a unique combination of colors, and what is considered a pink sapphire in America might qualify as a ruby elsewhere in the world.

Ruby color is not a single color, but a range. It goes from pinkish red, to purplish red, to orangish red, and an unmodified ruby red as well. There are even star rubies, which we have available at the Natural Ruby Company.

R7699 | “R7699”R4704 | “R4704”R12010 | “R12010”U12034 | “U12034”R2178 | “R2178”

There are three main components to any color; hue, tone, and saturation.

Hue – The actual color, as in red, blue, yellow, etc. The stones above are an example of this. Very often there are modifying colors like purplish red, orangish red, etc.

Different Basic Hues

Tone – How light or dark the stone is. Note that rubies (aside from star rubies) do not have light tones. These are pink sapphires by definition. Their tones only go from medium like U12034 to dark like R7697.

Different Tones

Saturation – How pure the color is. This is the difference between having ruby red and a reddish brown. It can also be the difference between a ruby and a pink sapphire, or brown corundum.

Different Saturations

Ruby Cuts

R9046 | right| play | “Stone ID : R9046”If choosing a specific ruby red proves difficult, there are other options to help narrow the search. There are a variety of cuts that gemstones come in, including one-of-a-kind cuts  like the ruby to the right.

Some common cuts are:

The cut of any gemstone is unique based on potential inclusions, pleochroic color, quality of the crystal rough, and ultimately how the cutter adapts to all these factors. No two gems will be exactly the same unless cut exclusively for that purpose, especially in larger carat sizes.

Most colored gemstones have a modified step cut on the bottom, like the round, cushion, oval, pear, marquise, trillion, and heart shapes listed above. The only exception to this is the emerald, which has a completely different cut. Other cuts like radiant and princess are more uniquely cut too, but much less common since they are not as adaptable as the modified step cut.

About Ruby Clarity

R10825 | right | “Stone ID : R10825”

Rubies can be transparent and clean looking (with inclusions difficult to find even with magnification), but these are few and far between. Clarity affects the price of rubies based on the type, location, number, and size of the many possible inclusions. These factors can dictate a large part of the price.

R11277 | left | “Stone ID : R11277”Having inclusions in the center of the stone with R10825 one the right is less attractive than having those same inclusions towards the edge at the girdle in R11277 on the left. Inclusions around the edge can be hidden in a setting too, depending on the location and desired setting. Once the stone is set as a ruby ring, ruby necklace, or whatever piece of ruby jewelry is preferred, inclusions often become much less visible. Note these are magnified images of the actual rubies, meaning these inclusions are much less visible in person.

The status of inclusions can reveal whether or not a stone has been heat-treated. Most rubies (and sapphires) have been heat-treated to improve clarity and color of the stone, and their price reflects this as demonstrated below. These effects are stable and widely accepted in the gemstone trade with disclosure.

R11949 | medium | “R11949 – 1.11ct – Heat Treated $3,885 Per carat”R11756 | medium | “R11756 – 1.32ct – Untreated $9,775 Per carat”

There are other natural factors associated with clarity, including the host material for rubies. There are two main types, one marble hosted and the other basalt hosted . Marble hosted rubies often have a brighter, softer red partially due to having a certain amount and types of inclusions (like rutile needles, aka silk). Basalt hosted stones are often darker and clearer looking, often lacking any silk.

Note that the keyword above is often and not always, as nature is rarely consistent and full of special exceptions. It is very possible for an untreated Mogok ruby to not have any silk, and a Mozambique ruby to be full of silk.

About Carat Weight

Carat weight is another factor that determines not just price per carat, but also what type of jewelry stone gets made into. Particularly large, and subsequently heavier stones usually are not chosen to make something like ruby earrings and might be worn more comfortably as a ruby pendant.

It is worth mentioning that rubies do not typically grow over a carat. This is because the element that causes the red color, chromium, is relatively rare. Rubies also form shallow, tabular rough, restricting cutters from faceting large rubies. This makes anything over a carat exceptionally rare.

Rarity and Price

The price-per- carat of rubies, like any gemstone, increases exponentially with the carat weight. For example; two 1 carat rubies will be worth less than a single 2 carat ruby of comparable quality. Why a difference in price even though the carat weight is the same? Because a 2 carat ruby is that much rarer than two 1 carat rubies. Unlike color or even cut, carat weight cannot be gained, though it can be lost with re-cutting and re-polishing of the stone.

R6660 | “R6660 1.25ct $4,187.50”R11666 | “R11666 1.07ct $4,750.80”R5346 | “R5346 2.16ct $16,329.60”

In this instance; the two-carat ruby is worth more than double the two 1 carat rubies combined.

Final Choice of Rubies

While there are a number of factors that determine market value for rubies, the most important factor here is whether or not you are satisfied with the stone. Everyone has different preferences, and not every preference will lead to the industry defined “ideal ruby”.

Each stone is a unique profile of clarity characteristics, coloration, cut, and weight. Even if every stone were cut to the same calibrated specifications, the type and arrangement of clarity characteristics all tell different stories. Some labs try to document these details in order to identify gemstones after being recut, much in the same way as people identify themselves with fingerprints.

Ruby Heat Treatment

These two stones are very similar down to color, cut, carat weight, clarity, and even source, but the untreated ruby is double the price of the treated one because of how rare it is to find a stone with the same properties straight out of the ground. While the exact percentage will fluctuate, over 95% or even 97% of all mined material gets treated (most common one being heat-treatment).

Heat-treating rubies is widely accepted in the industry with disclosure due to the improvement in color, clarity, and the fact that it is a permanent, stable treatment.