Wear a ruby and you will be powerful!!! This beautiful red gemstone is associated with power, wealth, love, and blood, but also with imagination! The birthday girls in July have an extra reason to wear this beauty since it is their birthstone (and I am the lucky one!!!). But also the ones celebrating the 15th or 40th anniversary may receive a ruby, according to the tradition.
It is not only one of the precious stones, but it is also ‘bloody’ beautiful, and who does not want to have such a gem, that makes you beautiful and powerful? In this blog, I describe all the features of a ruby. Read it and you will be just as convinced as I am, that you desperately need a piece of jewelry with a ruby!
Why you definitely should have a ruby!
The Ruby was associated with wealth: wear it on the side of the heart it protects your house, your estates, and other possessions. On top of that, the owner of the ruby lives in peace, love, and wisdom and there are no perils.
A necessity for a soldier
Especially the Burmese variety is famous for soldiers: they become invulnerable. But they do not have to wear the gemstone on the side of the heart because the ruby has to become a part of the body. Then the soldier is safe from wounds by bullets or swords. I looked into this story and I can not find any written evidence of how the soldiers got that stone into their bodies.
It cannot be done by swallowing rubies since during the fight they will come out the natural way. Maybe they implant it somewhere in their body. But that can be dangerous too in those times, without the right medical care. If somebody can help me solve this intriguing problem, pls write a comment on this blog.
The Hanza and the ruby
In Pakistan/Kashmir lives a tribe (Hanza) who thought that rubies or other red stones like garnets would cause more severe wounds than bullets. And they tried that in their fight against the British in 1892. Needless to say it does not work at the time.
The health power of the ruby
Like many other gemstones, this gemstone is also thought to have curative power. Although it is a rather expensive medicine: it is ground into a powder and the patient with indigestion problems can be cured by drinking the powder with water. The ruby purifies the blood and is supposed to be an antidote for poison.
Hypnotic gem
In the world of science and hypnotism, the ideas of the power of color related to gemstones are rising. Dr. Kunz said “It is impossible to over-estimate the effect of color in determining the supposed influence of gems upon the fortunes or health of the wearers.
Not only are gems such as a fine ruby aesthetically pleasing but the influence of the rays of light cannot be discounted.” The red light rays were stimulating and warm, while the blue-violet light was calming, according to the hypnotists.
Imagination!
I’ll bet you know the story of The Wizard of Oz. It’s the story of a farm girl Dorothy, whose house is blown away by a tornado and ends up in the Land of Oz, where she gets ruby slippers from Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.
These slippers are a kind of symbol of ‘good things of imagination’ in this movie, where Judy Garland plays the role of Dorothy. The slippers in the movie are made of red rhinestones and there are more than 5 sets of slippers used in that movie. Still, they are ‘wanted’. The movie was made in 1939 and in 2005 there is one pair of ruby slippers stolen from a museum! And comes back in 2010? Talking about power!
Wear one and find love in the ruby
Love has everything to do with your heart. You feel the love in your heart (and maybe your stomach too, when the butterflies waltz around in there). And the color of your heart is red, just like a ruby. Besides the diamond, this gemstone is very popular to use in engagement rings.
It’s not only because this gem is red, but the ruby red is stunning: dark, transparent, and full of light. And it is not only the gemstone of love but also energy, passion, and power. Just what love needs to stand out for a long time.
The features
What does it look like?
A ruby gem is red, very red. And red is the color of love (heart and red roses), power (like red sports cars), or strength (red blood). According to legends, this red gem brings you fortune, health, and power. And on top of it: when you wear this gemstone your enemy cannot defeat you. That is: when you wear a ruby on your left side (where the heart is). You can imagine that a ruby is a popular gemstone at all times and in many parts of the world.
A ruby (heart, love) with its hardness (9 on Moh’s scale) and the belief that the gemstone has an inner fire, that can not be extinguished. This makes it the symbol of everlasting love and the perfect stone in an engagement ring. And in Old Times a ruby is THE gemstone for a wedding ring.
I bet you want to know a bit more about this intriguing gemstone.
And that’s not all!
A ruby gemstone has a pink to blood-red color and that color determines the price of the gemstone. You call the brightest and most valuable ‘red’ color blood-red or ‘pigeon blood’. This gemstone belongs to the family of the corundum, like sapphire. The color red is caused by the presence of chromium. The name comes from the Latin word ‘rubens’, which means red. In Sanskrit, it is called ‘ratnaraj’, which means the king of the gems.
One feature of a ruby is very attractive: the gemstone is not perfect! Although a clear gemstone is more valuable, this is not the case here. It has needles (‘silk’) or rutile inclusions. But without them, you are sure this is a treated one. Almost all rubies nowadays are treated with heat before cutting.
Then the last important feature is that this gemstone is very tough. After the diamond (scale 10 on Moh’s scale) follows a ruby (scale 9) on hardness. Some consider it as one of the four gemstones (besides diamond, sapphire, and emerald), but this indication is a bit old-fashioned.
a few imperfections are OK
When a Ruby has only a few imperfections the stone is more valuable. But when you see gas bubbles (with a lens) or you don’t see imperfections at all: that might be very well a synthetic ruby and be aware!
Not only synthetic rubies are on the market, but you can see also imitations, like red spinel or garnet, claimed to be rubies. Since Roman times’ imitation rubies were sold on the market and in the 17th century they were able to color foil red and place it under the imitation stone.
Popular from the Stone Ages until now?
For a very very long time, a ruby has been famous and well-appreciated. The people in the time of the Bible consider the red gem as one of the most beautiful gemstones God made when he created the world (birthstones). God tells the high priest Aaron how he has to be clothed when he is in function. He has to wear a breast shield on his heart.
And on that breast shield, there are twelve gemstones representing the tribes of Israel. And the ruby is one of the gemstones. But in the Bible, you also find a text, to bring the appreciation of ruby into perspective. I am not aware of the fact that Job was such a wise man. But he says: ‘Wisdom is more precious than rubies’. Although they say that it is the symbol of wisdom too.
A Ruby is popular and valued in Europe…
In Europe, rubies are highly appreciated by royalty and the upper classes. Not only because of the beauty but also because people think that this gemstone guarantees health, wealth, and wisdom. And good love life. Madame Mendes, living in France at one time, is convinced that beautiful gemstones are inhabited by spirits.
And the spirits get angry with her when she doesn’t wear the gemstones frequently. That’s why she wears so many rings at the same time. She claims that the ruby in her ring becomes dull if she doesn’t wear it. But she has a problem. Because the other gemstones complain also when she does not wear them often enough. The result is that she looks like a Christmas tree, fully hung with jewelry.
…But also in India.
For about 2500 years rubies have been mined in India. The Hindus regard them as the ‘king of the gemstones’. They are more appreciated and valued than the other gemstones. They see the different colors as different castes. The most popular color is ‘the red of the Lotus’. It relates to the highest caste (Brahmin) and rubies protect the owner against any danger.
But… this color ruby should not be in contact with other colors of ruby or other gemstones. Because that precious ruby contaminates them and loses its power. That is similar to the caste policy of India, for ages. Keep groups of people with different social backgrounds apart to avoid problems. But the result is that you get problems with discrimination and the uprising against that.
A famous member of the Ruby family
The most expensive and most famous one in the world is the Sunrise Ruby. Less expensive than the diamond, but a very well second best. In May 2015 the Sunrise Ruby was auctioned by Sotheby’s in Geneva and they estimate the value of the gemstone for about 12-18 million US dollars. The bidding starts (mostly by phone) and within 7 minutes the Sunrise Ruby is sold for more than 30 million US dollars to an unknown bidder.
A big fan of the gemstone is Elisabeth Taylor, who has a lot of them, set in jewelry, of one of her 7 husbands (she married Richard Burton twice, so the total of engagement and wedding rings comes to 16!). When she died in 2011 her complete jewelry collection was auctioned and the total price is 156.8 million US dollars. A ring set with an 8.24 karat ruby breaks the record for the ‘price-per-carat’ and is sold for 4.2 million US dollars.
A member of the ruby family disappeared.
The largest mined ruby in the world is the Liberty Bell Ruby and it is stolen in 2011. It is mined in East Africa in the 1950s and has 8500 karats. And sculptured in the form of the Liberty Bell. This ruby has 50 diamonds set into the miniature and the value is 2 million US dollars. But is stolen from a jewelry store in Delaware. After setting a $10.000 reward four years later the police arrest four men and indict them for the heist. But the Liberty Bell Ruby is not found yet.
The star in the family of rubies
There are rubies with a ‘star’, showing a three-point or six-point asterism. These stones are cut into cabochons and used mostly for making rings, to show the effect properly. You see that asterism is best to rotate a light source above the stone. The needles reflect in a kind of star. In fact: the imperfection of the needles increases the value of this gemstone.
The bastards in the family
In 1837 Mr. Gaudin made the first synthetic rubies and that is the start of producing many synthetic varieties of all sorts of gemstones. That is the fate of all gemstones that are expensive and rare enough to gain money by making a synthetic variety. In 1903 Mr. Verneuil started to make synthetic rubies on a commercial scale and in 1910 he could produce 1000 kilos per year.
Down to earth ruby
We can say that the ruby is an intriguing and beautiful gemstone with a lot of powers. Wearing it on the side of the heart or inside your body gives you health and wealth, you will be invincible, and it is great for your sex life. Everybody who dreams about them will become an emperor or king. And the alternative is to offer a ruby to the temple and your career will be insured.
Be wealthy
All the good things have a price and rubies are no exception. Rubies are expensive and they are so expensive that fake rubies conquer the world. Don’t get tricked or your wealth will be as brittle as your fake rubies.
The rich and famous of this world own a lot of rubies since the gemstone is so fabulous. Like Queen Elizabeth II of England. One of her famous rubies in her large collection is the Timur Ruby, which was given to her mother in 1851 by the East India Company. A small problem was that later scientists discovered that this gem was a spinel, also beautiful but not the real thing.
In India, people believed that when you donate rubies to the god Krishna you bought your ticket to wealth because that was insurance to be reborn as an emperor in your next life. There must be a large number of potential emperors in heaven, waiting on their insurance ‘payment’.
This gem can do more, much more
Rubies can preserve mental and physical health. In the Middle Ages, it was the gem of prophecy. The kings thought that when the color of his rubies darkened there was an immediate danger. Rubies could cure liver problems by eating powdered rubies or being the remedy for poison.
The ruby is one of the four precious gemstones, called like this because they are ‘hard’. On Moh’s scale the ruby, sapphire, emerald, and diamond are 10 or a little less. That means that nothing can scratch the diamond and only the diamond can damage the ruby, emerald, and sapphire.
The color is pink to blood-red, and the name is chosen very well. The name ruby comes from the Latin word ‘rubens’ which means red. But this red gemstone comes in many shades, like pigeon blood red, pinkish-red, and dark red. The red in the gemstone is the mineral corundum like the sapphire is.
When you read the stories about this red gemstone there is one thing that keeps singing in your mind ‘I WANT A RUBY’ period. Lucky me I am a ruby month girl and maybe my husband read this blog post too (just a hint). But also for the ladies that are not born in July: when you have your birthday, ask for rubies!
When you want to know more about rubies or other birthstones. There is a free e-book about birthstones. Just let me know where I can send it to.
Florence from FlorenceJewelshop.