What Is A Natural Ruby
They are formed from corundum or aluminum oxide.
What is a natural ruby. The color of a ruby is due to the element chromium. Rubies come in one glimmering shade. Natural ruby stone is rough and dull. Ruby is the most valuable variety of the corundum mineral species which also includes sapphire.
Ruby is one of the traditional cardinal gems together with amethyst sapphire emerald and diamond. Heating is also a method that is being used to improve the quality of the ruby stone. Natural rubies are the ones that were formed over time by the components of the earth crust. These are the stones that fetch the high prices.
There s nothing more attractive like the bright red of a ruby and attaining an untreated ruby gem is. The word ruby comes from ruber latin for red. Lead glass rubies are not found naturally in the earth but are instead made using a combination of low quality corundum the mineral found in ruby which is then infused with high amounts of lead glass. Natural rubies are the ones grown in the earth.
And in order to enhance its overall beauty it is treated in different ways. They need only to be cut and polished no other treatments or enhancements are necessary. Same as sapphires rubies are branches of the corundum mineral family. Pictured is an example of a cut and polished loose natural ruby gemstone.
There are a few important factors considered when assigning natural ruby grades. A ruby is a pink to blood red coloured gemstone a variety of the mineral corundum. Heated natural ruby is also a very broad definition and as you can see from this blog article there is different levels of heat treatment which can affect the ruby price. There is just a small distinctive difference.
Rubies are gemstones that are more expensive than most others. They are one of the most important gems in the colored stone market. Some gemstones that are popularly or historically called rubies such as the black prince s ruby in the british imperial state crown are actually spinel. However there are two types of ruby gemstones.
Other varieties of gem quality corundum are called sapphires. It is very important in colored stone market. The inclusions in synthetic rubies appear slightly different under a high powered microscope. These are the real stones with high price tags.
Price from highest to lowest is 1 normal heat treatment 2 heat treatment with flux residue inside the ruby 3 heat treatment with chemically diffusion. The mixture is heated at high temperatures and then cooled cut and polished. Determining if a ruby is natural or synthetic typically requires the expertise of a gemologist and a high powered microscope.