Fashion Jewelry

Something about Amethyst

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. It is often used in jewelry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek methustos which means “intoxicated”. This is a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. The ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. The fact that it never worked is not clearly recorded. In Greek mythology, Dionysus, the god of intoxication, and of wine, was pursuing a maiden named Amethystos, who refused his affections. Amethystos prayed to the gods to remain chaste, a prayer which the goddess Artemis answered, transforming her into a white stone. Humbled by Amethystos’s desire to remain chaste, Dionysus poured wine over the stone as an offering, dyeing the crystals purple. It sports a 6-sided prism ending in 6-sided pyramid and rates a 7 or lower on the Mohs hardness scale. Sometimes it is rated lower because of impurities.  Because Amethyst is the violet variety of quartz its chemical formula is also SiO2.

Synthetic amethyst is made to imitate the best quality amethyst. Its chemical and physical properties are so similar to that of natural amethyst that it can not be differentiated with absolute certainty without advanced testing. This kind of testing can easily become too expensive to be worth it. Amethyst is composed of an irregular superposition of alternate lamellae of right-handed and left-handed quartz. It has been shown that this structure may be due to mechanical stresses. Amethyst was used as a gemstone by the ancient Egyptians and was largely employed in antiquity for intaglio engraved gems. Medieval European soldiers wore amethyst amulets as protection in battle. In that time, amethysts are believed to heal people and keep them cool-headed. Beads of amethyst were found in Anglo-Saxon graves in England.

If you’re in the mood to mine your own amethyst, it is produced in abundance from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil where it occurs in large geodes within volcanic rocks. Many of the hollow agates of southwestern Brazil and Uruguay contain a crop of amethyst crystals in the interior. Artigas, Uruguay and neighboring Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul are large world producers exceeding in quantity Minas Gerais, as well as Mato Grosso, Espirito Santo, Bahia, and Ceará states, all amethyst producers of importance in Brazil. Of course, you’ll have to negotiate the mining rights.

In addition, it is also found and mined in South Korea and the largest opencast amethyst vein in the world is in Maissau, Lower Austria. Also, some fine amethyst comes from Russia, especially from near Mursinka in the Ekaterinburg district, where it occurs in drusy cavities in granite rocks. India also has many localities that yield amethyst. Zambia in southern Africa produces about 1000 tons annually. North America also has many places where amethyst can be found.

Interestingly, up to the 18th century, amethyst was included in the cardinal, or most valuable, gemstones. It took its place alongside diamond, sapphire, ruby, and emerald. Unfortunately for collectors, since the discovery of extensive deposits in locations such as Brazil, it has lost most of its value. As with all gemstones, the beauty and therefore, the cost, is in the eye and pocketbook of the beholder.

Information about the Gem: Citrine

There are many varieties of quartz and this one is also the birthstone for November. It is usually found in differing shades of yellow and orange.

With a hardness of 7, Citrine is not the hardest gemstone, but it is considered to be rare in nature. The way to define a citrine is a quartz crystal that is yellow or orange in color. Most of the citrines on the market today have been heat treated. Sometimes low grade, inexpensive amethyst or smoky quartz are often heated to high temperatures to produce the more profitable orange yellow citrine. Those citrines that have been heated to create their color usually have much more of an orange or reddish color than those found in nature. Those that are found in nature usually have a pale yellow. Since amethyst is also a quartz and is often found near citrine. Much of the natural citrine may have even started out as amethyst. Heat from nearby bodies may have caused the change to citrine.

If you bombard an amethyst – turned – citrine with beta radiation, it can get its purplish color back. Nowadays, a popular gemstone is called ametrine. It is actually half the color of the citrine and half the color of an amethyst. One thing that must be watched out for when shopping for yellow stones is that citrine can often be confused with the more expensive orange-yellow topaz. Because these stones can look similar, citrine can sometimes be sold as topaz by dishonest dealers. As a result, this practice has created a negative thought in the minds of many potential citrine fanciers who see citrine as a fake topaz and not as a legitimate gemstone.

There are other types of quartz crystals you may see in the market place. Some of them are: Amethyst as the purple gemstone,  Milky Quartz as the cloudy white variety. Prasiolite is a green color. Rock crystal is the clear variety that is also used as a gemstone. Rose or Rosie quartz is a pink to reddish pink colored stone. Smoky quartz is sometimes brown or gray in color.

In addition to citrine’s value as a gemstone, it has been reported to have healing properties. Some say it has the healing properties of the sun. “It expands the auric field, filling it with light and clearing away any lingering etheric toxins. Citrine is also a wonderful manifestation crystal by motivating you into taking action. It brings optimism and cheerfulness. Citrine is a good stone for aligning all the chakras. It focuses on balancing the solar plexus chakra, which in turn integrates the lower and higher chakras.”

So, if you feel you need your chakras aligned or need the healing power of the sun, then this stone may also be in order. But outside of these somewhat unproven benefits, this color of quartz will never cease to interest and entertain those of us captivated by yellow stones. Perhaps your local jewelers has some on offer that may be just right for you.

Garnet

If you know Garnet as the deep red stone almost with an orang-ish tint, you’re right but there is so much more to Garnet than that. There have been some spectacular finds, especially in Africa, that have enhanced the traditional image of the garnet with a surprising number of new colors. Thanks to their rich color spectrum, garnets today can quite happily keep pace with changes of style and the trends of fashion. And thanks to the new finds, there is a reliable supply of them too. In fact, this gemstone in particular is giving quite a shot in the arm to the world of jewelry today.

The classification of  ‘garnet’ indicates a group of more than ten different gemstones of similar chemical composition. It is true to say that red is most often encountered, but the garnet also exists in various shades of green, a tender to intense yellow, a fiery orange and some very fine earth-colored varieties. One color you won’t find in the garnet world is blue. Garnets are much sought-after and much recognized gemstones – even more so today because not only the classic colors red and green which are desirable, but also the fine shades in between. In addition, the world of the garnet is also rich in rarities such as star garnets and stones whose color changes depending on whether in daylight or artificial.

Garnet measures 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale which is relatively hard. With a few minor exceptions it applies to all the members of the garnet group, and it is the reason for the longevity of these gemstones. Garnets are relatively insensitive and uncomplicated to work with. The only thing they really don’t like is being knocked about or subjected to improper heat treatment. They also have a high refractive index, the cause of the garnet’s great brilliance. The shape of the raw crystals is also interesting. In the Middle Ages, the red garnet was also called the ‘carbuncle stone’. And even today, fantasy names like Arizona ruby, Arizona spinel, Montana ruby or New Mexico ruby are still doing big business in garnets.

Garnets have been known to Man for thousands of years. Noah, it is said, used a garnet lantern to help him steer his ark through the dark night. Garnets are also found in jewelry from early Egyptian, Greek and Roman times. Many an early explorer and traveler liked to carry a garnet with him, for the garnet was popular as a talisman and protective stone, as it was believed to light up the night and protect its bearer from evil and disaster. Today, science has taught us that the garnet’s glow comes from its excellent refractive index.

In addition to the many notable colors, garnets also have many names: almandine, andradite, demantoid, grossularite, hessonite, pyrope, rhodolite, tsavorite, spessartine, and uvarovite, to name a few. There is also the fiery red pyrope. Its spirited red, often with a slight brownish nuance, was a gemstone color much in demand in the 18th and 19th centuries. Garnets from a find in the north-eastern part of the former kingdom of Bohemia were world-famous at that time. In Europe, they were employed as jewelry, especially in the Victorian period. Genuine Bohemian garnet jewelry was often set with a large number of small stones, which were close to one another like the seeds of a pomegranate. Today too, garnets are still found in former Czechoslovakia and set close together according to the old tradition. If you have a chance to acquire these special arrangements, don’t hesitate.

Something About Amber

Amber has been used by jewelry makers for hundreds of years to create amber jewelry and unique works of art that survive today as museum pieces. It was originally from the Eocene Epoch. About 45 million years ago, trees that one 19th century botanist called amber-giving pines deposited resin in what is now Scandinavia and the Baltic. This resin was carried by waterways to the Baltic coastline, where the largest deposits of amber have been discovered. At the bottom of the sea over the next 40 million years, this resin was fossilized and became amber. About two million years ago a glacier shifted, which brought the amber to the surface of the earth where it is mined today. Otherwise, we may never have found it nestled deep within the ocean.

The original pine forests depositing the resin grew in a warm, subtropical climate that was friendly to many plant and animal species. Many of these species were preserved in what are called inclusions. Inclusions are needles, twigs, leaves, flowers, pollens, seeds, flowers and oak hairs that became trapped and preserved in the resin that became amber millions of years later. Fossilized amber has also entombed small insects, arachnids, and occasionally other small animals. Feathers, hairs, and occasional paw prints reveal additional information about the life forms existing during the Eocene Epoch. In fact, it has become a great way to study the past as it has been preserved in Amber.

Evidence of amber use by ancient Central and South European cultures dates from the 13th millennium B.C. in the form of amulets used in hunter’s magic to ensure safe and prosperous hunting, as well as pendants and beads that demonstrate a decorative use that has survived through modern times. Amber is a mineral of many names, such as good stone, sacred stone, gold of the north, and Baltic gold. The Roman historian Pliny wrote: “Among luxury goods it is valued so high that an amber human figurine, no matter how small, costs much more than men in their prime”.

Amber jewelry was very popular during the Roman Empire, and the “Amber Route” that developed for the amber trade fostered social and economic development in the parts of Europe to which it extended. The most famous expedition of amber occurred during Nero’s reign, when a Roman equites sent to the Baltic Coast to acquire amber brought back so much of the gem that an entire stage for gladiator fights was made of amber. The 17th century is considered the golden age of the amber craft. During this period, distinguished artists created caskets, statues, chandeliers, and furniture laden with gold, silver, and amber for royalty and the wealthy.

In addition to its decorative uses, amber has been used for various medicinal purposes since the Roman Empire, when it was used to treat treating fever and tonsillitis. Copernicus used amber as one of the ingredients of his cordial mixture. And, at the turn of the 20th century, one of the most popular types of amber product was the cigarette holder with an amber mouthpiece. Amber was also used to decorate cigarette and cigar cases as well as dagger handles. Konigsberg was the center of amber craftsmanship for the first half of the 20th century. After World War II however, the state borders changed, cutting Germany off from what had been the main source of rough amber. During the latter half of the 20th century amber craftsmanship has come full circle and once again, Gdansk, Poland is the epicenter for amber art. Now, we find Amber as an important component in many pieces of jewelry.

Let’s take a look at the Opal

Let’s take a look at the Opal. there’s more than what meets the eye. In fact, there are so many varieties that show a play of color, but there are other kinds of common opal such as the milk opal, milky bluish to greenish, resin opal which is honey-yellow with a resinous luster, wood opal which is caused by the replacement of the organic material in wood with opal, menilite which is brown or grey. There’s hyalite, which is a colorless glass-clear opal sometimes called Muller’s Glass, geyserite, also called siliceous sinter, deposited around hot springs or geysers and diatomite or diatomaceous earth, the accumulations of diatom shells.

One of the most popular and most loved is the Fire opal. These are transparent to translucent opals with warm body colors yellow, orange, orange-yellow or red and they do not usually show any play-of-color, although occasionally a stone will exhibit bright green flashes. The most famous source of fire opals is the state of Querétaro in Mexico and these opals are commonly called Mexican fire opals.

Peruvian opal is a semi-opaque to opaque blue-green stone found in Peru which is often cut to include the matrix in the more opaque stones.

It is interesting to know where Opals come from. Australia produces around 97% of the world’s opal. 90% is called ‘light opal’ or white and crystal opal. White makes up 60% of the opal productions but cannot be found in all of the opal fields. Crystal opal or pure hydrated silica makes up 30% of the opal produced, 8% is black and only 2% is boulder opal. Interestingly, the town of Coober Pedy in South Australia is a major source of opal. The world’s largest and most valuable gem opal “Olympic Australis” was found in August 1956 at the “Eight Mile” opal field in Coober Pedy. It weighs 17,000 carats and is 11 inches long, with a height of 4¾ inches and a width of 4½ inches. It is valued at AUD$2,500,000.

The Virgin Valley opal fields of Humboldt County in northern Nevada produce a wide variety of precious black, crystal, white, fire, and lemon opal. The black fire opal is the official gemstone of Nevada. Most of the precious opal is partial wood replacement. Miocene age opalised teeth, bones, fish, and a snake head have been found. Some of the opal has high water content and may desiccate and crack when dried. The largest black opal in the Smithsonian Institution comes from the Royal Peacock opal mine in the Virgin Valley.

As well as occurring naturally, opals of all varieties have been synthesized experimentally and commercially. The discovery of the ordered sphere structure of precious opal led to its synthesis by Pierre Gilson in 1974. Synthetics can be distinguished from naturals by the former’s lack of fluorescence under UV light. Synthetics are also generally lower in density and are often highly porous. Two notable producers of synthetic opal are the companies Kyocera and Inamori of Japan. Most so-called synthetics, however, are more correctly termed “imitation opal”, as they contain substances not found in natural opal. The imitation opals seen in vintage jewelry are often foiled glass, glass-based “Slocum stone”, or later plastic materials. Opals are a wonderful source of natural beauty – even those that are synthesized.

Gem Stones and Mountings

If you look closely at your jewelry, or if you want to make your own, you’ll notice there are several ways to attach the gem stones. Let’s observe a few and see how jewelry is made.

One of the most popular ways to set a gem stone is with the use of prongs. These are small fingers of metal that hold the gem in place. The stone is first placed inside the setting and then these fingers or prongs are bent down over the stone using special jeweler’s pliers.

Another type of setting is called ‘pave’. A pave setting is a stone setting in which multiple small stones are set close together and very close to the surface of a piece of jewelry, making it look like the jewelry has been ‘paved’ with gemstones. One classic use of the pave setting is in diamond jewelry, where multiple small diamonds can shine with brilliance in a pave setting. This type of setting is especially popular for rings and pendants. Any gemstone can be utilized in a pave setting, but the style of the setting promotes the play of light through the stone, so translucent stones like emeralds, rubies, diamonds, and topaz are especially suitable.

To make this setting, jewelers make a series of impressions in the metal which are used to seat the stones, and small beads or prongs are used to pin the stones in place. The goal is to have as little metal showing as possible, so that the brilliance of the stones can be clearly seen. A pave setting may only be applied to one surface, or it may wrap around in a three sided or round setting, a popular option for rings.

Another type of setting is the bezel. A bezel is a band of metal containing a groove and a flange holding a watch crystal or gemstone in its setting. This was the earliest method of setting gemstones into jewelry. The bezel is shaped into the size and shape of the gem and then soldered into place on the metal of the jewelry. The prepared stone is then placed into the bezel and the metal is pressed down over the edges of stone, locking it into place.

A cabochon stone (a gemstone that is not faceted) usually relies on the shallow angle cut into the side of the stone which helps the metal to stay in place. With a clear faceted stone, such as a diamond, a shallow groove is cut into the bezel itself. The widest part of the gem stone is placed in the bezel, which is then pushed down over the girdle. The pressure of the bezel over the edge of the diamond keeps it in place.

Bezel settings for diamond rings are also called rub-over settings. Bezel settings use a type of elevated collar which wraps the rim of the diamond in a complete metal edging. This type of diamond rings setting is the most secure fastener for the stones. The bezel setting also protects the diamond better than other types of settings, such as the prong setting. Diamond rings with bezel settings give the rings a more elegant, understated and streamlined appearance than the prong setting.

The next time you go jewelry shopping, take a look at all the different types of settings for the gem stones. You’ll see how different settings create different looks and perhaps you’ll have a greater understanding of the effort required to make beautiful jewelry.

Peridot – the lovely green Gem

There are many green stones from which to choose if you are a lover of green and have a passion for jewelry. There are Tourmaline, Emeralds, and even some Sapphires are a bit green. Today, we’ll look at Peridot. A semi-precious gem often used in jewelry with a beautiful bright green color.

Just where the word  came from is still not confirmed. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests an alteration of Anglo-Norman pedoretés, a kind of opal, rather than the Arabic word faridat, meaning “gem”. Most likely it is the Arabic origin because oftentimes ‘p’ and ‘f’ are interchanged in that family of languages.

It is interesting to note that Peridot is one of the few gemstones that occur in only one color: basically an olive green. As with all gemstones, the color is varied by the absence or presence of either inclusions or imperfections in the stone or the absence or presence of certain minerals. Peridot is no exception. The intensity and tint of the green depends on how much iron is contained in the crystal structure, so the color of individual Peridot gems can vary from yellow-green through olive green to brownish green. The most valuable is considered a dark-olive green color. But, if you are a gem collector, you will know that the beauty of a gem and its color are completely in the yes of the beholder.

Through the years, it has been found that the untrained eye will confuse Peridot with other gems. It is sometimes mistaken for emeralds and other green gems. In fact notable gemologist George Frederick Kunz discussed the confusion between emeralds and Peridots in many church treasures, notably the “Three Magi” treasure in the Dom of Cologne, Germany. Olivine, of which Peridot is a type, is a common mineral in mafic and ultramafic rocks, and it is often found in lavas and in peridotite xenoliths of the mantle, which lavas carry to the surface; but gem quality Peridot only occurs in a fraction of these settings.

In much antique jewelry, Peridot could have come from Egypt: in the late 18th century or early 19th century, Peridot was taken from Egyptian ecclesiastical and other ornaments and reused in jewelry. Peridot crystals have been collected from some Pallasite meteorites. A famous Pallasite was offered for auction in April 2008 with a requested price of close to $3 million at Bonhams, but remained unsold. It is interesting to note that Peridot is the only gemstone found in meteorites.

Peridot is treasured in Hawaii as the goddess Pele’s tears. The island of Oahu even has beaches made out of tiny grains of Peridot. Although Hawaii’s volcanoes have produced some Peridot large enough to be cut into gems, virtually all Peridot sold in Hawaii today is from Arizona.

Fine large Peridot are found in Burma and large quantities of Peridot are also mined in China. In 1994, a new deposit of fine Peridot was discovered in Pakistan, 15,000 feet above sea level in the far west of the Himalaya Mountains in the Pakistani part of Kashmir. Beautiful large crystals of Peridot were found, some that cut magnificent large gemstones.  But you may not have to go to Kashmir to get some beautiful Peridot treasures. Check with your local jeweler first.

Some facts about Sapphire

Sapphire in Greek means blue stone. It is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum. If it is red or dark pink the gem would instead be called a ruby and then considered to be a different gemstone. Very small amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give corundum blue, yellow, pink, purple, orange, or greenish color. Pink-orange sapphires are also called padparadscha and have a beautiful orange-red appearance. But we mostly know sapphire as a beautiful blue gem.

They are most commonly worn as jewelery and can be found by searching through sediments and rock formations like other gems. They can also be manufactured for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystals. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphire, it is used in some non-ornamental applications, including infrared optical components, small, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals, and thin electronic wafers.

You can find sapphire deposits in Eastern Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, East Africa, and in North America. The color in these gemstones has three components: hue, saturation, and tone. Hue means the color of the gemstone. Saturation means the vividness of the stone, and tone is the lightness to darkness. Blue sapphire exists in various mixtures of its primary and secondary hues, tones, and saturation. Blue sapphires are usually graded based upon the purity of their primary hue. There are other colors that get involved and can be seen readily by the trained eye. Purple, violet, and green are the most common secondary hues found in blue sapphires. Violet and purple can contribute to the overall beauty of the color, while green is considered to be distinctly negative. So, when they say 15% violet or purple, they are considered generally to be of fine quality. Blue sapphires with any amount of green as a secondary hue are not as desirable. Gray is the normal saturation modifier or mask found in blue sapphires and only detracts from the beauty and value of the stone.

Blue isn’t the only color, though. Yellow and green sapphires are also commonly found. Pink sapphires deepen in color as the quantity of chromium increases. The deeper the pink color the higher their monetary value as long as the color is trending towards the red of rubies. Sapphires also occur in shades of orange and brown, and colorless sapphires are sometimes used as diamond substitutes in jewelry. Padparadscha sapphires often draw higher prices than many of even the finest blue sapphires. Recently, more sapphires of this color have appeared on the market as a result of a new artificial treatment method that is called ‘lattice diffusion’. But natural colors are considered the most valuable.

Padparadscha – the pink-orange sapphire with a low to medium saturation and light tone, were originally being mined in Sri Lanka, but now are also found in deposits in Vietnam and Africa. These sapphires are very rare and highly valued.

Finally, the star sapphire is a type of sapphire that has a star-like phenomenon known as asterism. Star sapphires contain intersecting needle-like imperfections that cause the appearance of a six-rayed ’star’-shaped pattern when viewed with a single overhead light source. It is interesting that it is the imperfections that can cause such beauty. The 182-carat Star of Bombay, located in the National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, D.C., is an example of a blue star sapphire.

Sapphires are available, though, in many shapes and sizes for the gem and jewelry lover. They often look wonderful with white gold, rhodium and sterling silver. Once you start to notice the beautiful blue hues that the sapphire emits, you’ll want more for yourself

Emerald City

Emeralds are clearly one of the most famous and adored of all the precious stones. They are unique and coveted as much – and sometimes more than – diamonds. Let’s find out why emeralds are so desired.

Emeralds are the birthstone for the month of May. They are said to represent beauty, power, and wonder. Long one of the most sought after and admired precious gems to be found, fascination and demand for this precious stone is because of its captivating and beautiful green color. Emeralds of high quality are also scarce. For these same reasons, emeralds may sometimes be considered even more precious than diamonds.

Even though diamonds get so much of the attention, emeralds certainly deserve their share. There are only 4 gems considered precious: diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds.

When we judge diamonds, we use the ‘4 C’s’: Color, Cut, Clarity, and Carat. Depending upon the rating one gives, the stone is considered to have high or low value. These characteristics are also considered when one looks at an emerald, but in a different way. First, the color is considered. The richer greens and blue-greens tend to be the most expensive and highly regarded emerald colors, but this should never sway you from buying a lighter colored stone that you find beautiful.

Next, the quality of the cut plays an important role in assessing a stone’s value, but it is not an exact science. There is no single cut that is valued more than another. The most popular cut for an emerald is called the ‘Emerald Cut’. It is rectangular in shape and used because it brings out the best in the best emeralds.

The clarity of the stone is most important when valuing diamonds, but in colored stones, this characteristic is less important. This is especially true when it comes to emeralds because of what is often referred to as the ‘garden’. A garden is a natural feature internal to the stone that may appear like a silky web trapped within. Dense gardens may have an effect on clarity, but clarity alone should not sway one’s opinion of a particular stone. The degree to which clarity affects a stone’s appeal and value is a very subjective consideration. Many emerald buyers will often place greater emphasis on color.

One carat is a unit of weight measurement equivalent to 1/5th of one gram. Most gemstones are priced and sold based on their carat weight. For average sized stones, this price is based primarily on their color, cut, and clarity. But as you begin to look at larger stones, and particularly larger stones of high quality, the 4th ‘C’ begins to play a much bigger role in pricing the stone. The main reason is because the larger stones are rarer, and therefore, cost more.

If you’re in the market for a beautiful emerald to add to your collection of jewelry, consider the above facts. You’ll be glad you made your purchase. Precious gems last for centuries and are almost eternal. Having one to put on your finger in a ring or around your neck on a pendant will make you proud of your astute purchase.

All about Rubies

Rubies are traditionally precious red stones that adorn some of the finest jewelry ever made. Some people are hooked on ruby as their gemstone of choice for its beautiful red color and sexy appeal. Let’s learn a bit more about this wonderful jewel.

Rubies can be pink to blood-red colored. They are a variety of the mineral corundum. The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. The name originally comes from ‘ruber’, which means ‘red’ in Latin. Sapphire is also made of gem-quality corundum. The ruby is considered one of the four precious stones; the other three are sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds.

Prices of rubies are primarily determined by color. The brightest and most valuable ‘red’ – called pigeon blood-red – demands a much higher price over other rubies of similar quality. After color, follows clarity: similar to diamonds, a clear stone will command a premium, but a ruby without any needle-like rutile inclusions may indicate that the stone has been treated. The quality of the cut and the size also determine the price. A less acceptable treatment, which has gained notoriety in recent years, is lead glass filling. Filling the fractures inside the ruby with lead glass dramatically improves the transparency of the stone, making previously unsuitable rubies fit for applications in jewelry.

Gemstones are rated on a scale of hardness called the Mohs scale. Diamonds are considered to be a ‘10′. Rubies have a hardness of 9.0 on the scale. All natural rubies have imperfections in them, including color impurities and inclusions of rutile needles known as ’silk’. Experts use the silk to determine if the stone is genuine. Almost all rubies today are treated in some form, with heat treatment being the most common practice. Rubies that are completely untreated but still of excellent quality are quite expensive.

For centuries, Myanmar was the world’s main source for rubies. That region has produced some of the finest rubies ever mined, but in recent years very few good rubies have been found there. The very best color in Myanmar rubies is sometimes described as ‘pigeon’s blood’. In central Myanmar, the area of Mong Hsu began producing rubies during the 1990s and rapidly became the world’s main ruby mining area. Rubies have also been mined in Thailand, Cambodia, and in Afghanistan. After the Second World War, ruby deposits were found in Tanzania, Madagascar, Vietnam, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. A few rubies have been found in the USA. Some large ruby deposits have recently been found under the receding ice shelf of Greenland. In 2002 rubies were found in Kenya.

Be careful, some Imitation rubies are also marketed. Red spinel, red garnets, and colored glass have been falsely claimed to be rubies. Imitations go back to Roman times and as far back as the 17th century techniques were developed to fool the untrained and uninformed.

If you are in the market for some beautiful ruby jewelry, go to a reputable dealer to get the quality and style you demand. Rubies are almost a necessity for any jewelry wearer and enhance any outfit. Happy ruby shopping!