Ruby the Gem of the Sun—The
King of Planets
continues....

Ruby is a gemstone of the corundum family and is attractive because of its brilliance, if it is crystal clear and transparent. It is found in a variety of crimson and scarlet red colours ranging from pink to a ruddy violet color. It has the smooth and delicate lustre of clarified butter. Both Ruby and Sapphire belong to the corundum family. The trace element responsible for the red of the Ruby is chromium whereas the trace element responsible for the blue in the Sapphire is the titanium.

MAIN SOURCES OF RUBY GEMSTONES AND COLOUR OF THE RUBY

Myanmar - Burma
Mozambique
Afghanistan
Tajikistan
India
Kenya
Madagascar
Sri Lanka
Tanzania
Thailand
Vietnam

The most famous of all rubies are ones from the Mogok valley in Burma.

These rubies today are very rare and the price is sky high running into thousands of dollars for a pure gem grade beautiful ruby.

According to ancient folklore Burmese Ruby comes predominantly in the 5 colours. These are listed below in the order of preference. The brilliant red colour along with the red fluorescence makes these gemstones special.

The best colour for Burmese Ruby is called
ko-twe or the Imperial Pigeon Blood Red and resembles centre of the eye of a pigeon. Some say it the colour that comes out as drops near the nostrils of a freshly killed pigeon. It is said that asking to see an Imperial Pigeon Blood Ruby is like asking to see the face of God. Imperial Pigeon Blood is pure medium dark red with almost a 10-15% shade of blue that combines with red to give an aristocratic and regal deep red purplish shade. When such a Ruby is set in bright rich yellow gold of a high caratage the blue gets muted to give you a stunning and unique scarlet red.

The second best colour of the Burmese Ruby is called yeong-twe or colour of the blood of a rabbit. This Ruby has a darker shade and appears to be bluish
red.

To be continued.....