4.52 Ct. Ruby from Mozambique

This ruby is a transparent, natural, untreated oval weighing 4.52 carat, with overall dimensions of 10.71 x 7.88 x 5.97 mm, a mixed brilliant cut, clarity graded as eye clean at normal viewing distance, vivid color intensity, and an excellent polish, offered by The Natural Ruby Company. The pavilion and crown have been faceted to balance color saturation with light return, producing a uniform face up appearance and a deep, lively red that reads consistently across changing angles. The lack of heat or other enhancement preserves the original internal structure and optical characteristics, which contributes to both the gemological interest and the visual integrity of the stone. At this size, an eye clean, vivid red ruby with no enhancement is notable, allowing the stone to display pure corundum color without the clouding or diffusion that some treatments can introduce.

Optically this ruby behaves in a manner consistent with fine corundum, with a refractive index range that typically lies near 1.762 to 1.770 and with low dispersion near 0.018, values which produce a lively, yet controlled, brilliance and a glassy, or vitreous, luster. The mixed brilliant cut enhances scintillation by employing a faceting scheme that returns light efficiently from the crown while preserving depth and saturation in the table area, so the stone appears vibrant without excessive washout or dark windowing. Compared to step cut corundum profiles, this mixed brilliant presentation yields more noticeable pinpoint flashes and a dynamic interplay of light and dark facets, which accentuate the vivid red while maintaining a substantial face up presence. The excellent polish further sharpens facet junctions, increasing contrast and improving the sharpness of light reflections, which contributes to a refined and crisp visual performance under both daylight and artificial lighting.

When placed in context with other gemstones in the corundum family and related red gems, the reflective qualities of this Mozambican ruby are distinctive. Relative to heated rubies, which may show increased apparent clarity and homogenized color, an unenhanced ruby retains subtle internal character and natural light absorption patterns that can deepen tone and increase perceived color richness, sometimes at the expense of the slightly greater transparency seen in treated stones. Compared to Burmese rubies known for their strong fluorescence which can intensify red tones under ultraviolet rich light, Mozambican rubies generally present vivid saturation through intrinsic color alone, offering a strong red under a broad range of lighting conditions without reliance on fluorescence. Against spinel, which commonly has a lower refractive index near 1.718 and typically presents a softer, more open brilliance, this ruby displays stronger light return and a denser, more saturated face up color, while spinel may exhibit slightly greater dispersion or fire in certain material types. Compared to garnet varieties that can exhibit higher dispersion and therefore appear to show more spectral fire, this ruby emphasizes depth of hue and controlled scintillation rather than colorful flashes. Against diamond, which has high dispersion and extreme fire, the ruby will not exhibit the same colorful flash, however the ruby compensates with a rich body color and concentrated internal reflections that produce a warm, velvety radiance distinct from the cold brilliance of colorless stones.

For practical use and setting considerations, the combination of a mixed brilliant cut, eye clean clarity, vivid natural color, and no enhancement makes this ruby especially suitable for center stone applications where color integrity and light performance are priorities, such as a solitaire ring, pendant, or bespoke commission. The proportions and polish maximize both face up color and scintillation, delivering a gem that reads as both lively and substantial in presence. The Natural Ruby Company presents this stone as an example of high quality, untreated Mozambican material, with optical behavior that favors saturated color and refined brilliance over the overt fire or flash associated with some other gem species, a characteristic that many collectors and designers specifically seek in fine ruby jewelry.