Ruby gemstone

Physical properties of ruby

Ruby characteristics

Ruby (anthrax, carbuncle, manicia, ratnanayana, yahont, lal, noble red corundum) is a precious stone whose fame is not even worth mentioning. Ruby is one of the most beautiful and expensive gemstones, but it is worth its price, and it is not for nothing that many famous historical figures valued rubies above other stones.

The ruby has many names, and each of them has something to say about this amazing gemstone. For example, the name "anthrax" is translated from Greek as "burning coal", and the Latin "carbuncle" means the same, and such names are given to rubies for their hot bright colors, which seem to really burn you. In Sanskrit, the ruby has two of the greatest and truly royal names that speak for themselves - "ratnanayana" ("leader of gems") and "manikiya" ("king of gems"). The Persians gave an unusual name to the ruby, they called this gem “samaj-asmur”, which means “reflecting the plague” (in the East, they believed that rubies could cure epilepsy and plague). In Russia, the ruby used to be called “yahont” or “lal” (however, these names meant all red gems in general).

The very word "ruby" comes from the Latin "rubeus", and it is translated simply "red". This name was given to the ruby by the mineralogist Valerius, and, by the way, not so long ago - only in 1747. Rubies are classified as corundum, among which this stone stands out noticeably, so that it is often even called “noble red corundum”.

Famous rubies

The fact that rubies were highly valued, says at least the fact that these precious stones even received their personal names. For example, the famous oriental scientist Biruni talks about the ruby "Jabal" ("Mountain"). The “Ruby of Timur” is known, on which the names of the rulers of the Timurids and Tamerlane himself are carved, and the “ruby of the Black Prince” (although later it became known that the last two stones were not real rubies, which had a bad effect on the glory of rubies).

Yes, at the present time the glory of the ruby is undermined. First of all, the fact that people have learned to make artificial synthetic rubies, which are almost impossible to distinguish from real stones. However, the beauty of rubies still attracts the attention of many people.

The best rubies are pure red stones (such rubies are called "pigeon blood") and rubies with an asterism effect (star effect).

How much is a ruby

The ruby is now an expensive gemstone because of its rarity. Even third-rate defective stones with cracks, inclusions and turbidity, sometimes lost their luster, are highly valued - from $200 to $500 per 1 carat. Rubies of the second grade with defects and inclusions, practically invisible to the ordinary eye, are estimated at $500 to $800 per 1 carat. Most often in elite jewelry stores they sell just such. And first-class rubies without defects or with defects and inclusions that are visible only with the help of special equipment will cost from $800 to $1500 per 1 carat and more. And such stones are no longer commercially available.