Rubies Explained

Rubies and Sapphires are scientifically the same stone, differing only in color. Corundum, the predominating mineral of both, is composed of nearly pure alumina. The coloring substance which differentiates rubies and sapphires is believed to be chromium. In the scale of hardness the gem ranks as No. 9 and is thus the hardest of all substances excepting the diamond.

Color is the most important factor in determining the value of the ruby. The gem is always more or less imperfect, but its freedom from bad imperfections is also important. Since fine rubies of all sizes are extremely rare, the price increases very rapidly with an increase in size, and a fine ruby of more than four carats commands an extraordinary price and can be said to be the most valuable of all gems, exceeding greatly a diamond of equal weight. The color varies from the lightest rose tint to the deepest carmine, but the rarest and most valuable shade is that known as Pigeon Blood. This is the color of arterial blood. The ruby has always been greatly admired, and Ruskin calls the ruby in the British Crown the most beautiful gem he has ever seen.

The finest rubies come from Burmah and are termed Oriental Rubies. Siam also produces rubies, but of a much darker red and of very much less value. Rubies are also found in Ceylon, India, Australia, Brazil, and occasionally in America.

Rubies, as well as sapphires, are sometimes cut in India in cabochon form and are afterwards cut again in Europe. The style is often cushion shape, with step cutting. They are also cut round and pear shape, similar to the cutting of a diamond of these shapes. The stones are cut thick or shallow to deepen or diminish the color of the stone.

Many years ago scientists succeeded in producing minute crystals of rubies and sapphires which could not be distinguished from the rubies of nature even by the microscope. These specimens were, however, very small and of no commercial value. These minute crystals are the only truly synthetic rubies which have ever been made.

The scientific ruby now on the market is simply a chemical product made by fusing powdered alumina, colored to imitate the gem by the addition of a metallic oxide. This scientific ruby, because it is better and cheaper, has largely taken the place of the reconstructed ruby, make by melting small fragments of real rubies. These chemical products when dyed blue pass in a similar way for sapphires.

All these imitations of the true corundum gems can be detected by an expert, most of them at first sight and without hesitation. And even in the much rarer cases when the imitation approaches the real stone very closely, the former can always be detected under a microscope. In the real, fine parallel lines of structural strain are seen and the little enclosures, or bubbles, are irregular in shape, whereas in the imitation the lines of strain are curved and the bubbles round.

While scientific rubies and sapphires have a distinct use as ornaments, they can never affect the sale of the real gems any more than is the case with imitation pearls. Aside from the fact that the imitation can always be ultimately detected, the person desiring to purchase a ruby and as a work of beauty and distinction wants a gem which he knows is one of nature's rarities and is therefore possessed of intrinsically great value. A good illustration of this fundamental feeling is given by Mr. Zell, who says, "Many perfect copies of the Sistine Madonna have been made by good artists, the original is priceless, the copies at the most are worth a few hundred dollars, this is the relation of a gem made in nature's laboratory to one produced by the chemist."