Red gems give people the feeling of enthusiasm and strength. Ruby, with its unique red charm, has been deeply loved by people in the East and West for thousands of years in the charming kingdom of colored gems. Ruby is red gem-grade corundum, with English name Ruby, which comes from the Latin word Ruber (red). Ruby symbolizes the beauty, eternity and firmness of passion and love, and is the birthstone of July. It is known as the "King of Gems" with its fiery red color and ranks among the gems (Figure 4- 1).

Figure 4- 1 Ruby Jewelry

In the west, ruby has a long history, culture and long-term legend. According to the Bible, the ruby contained in the robes and breastplates of Jewish tribes ranks first among the so-called most precious 12 gems created by God. In ancient India, ruby was called "the first gem", and people thought it could bring health, wealth and success. The ancient Egyptians regarded ruby as a symbol of the supreme king, while in medieval Europe, ruby was regarded as a gem of mercy of the gods (Figure -42).

In the east, the Ruiguang Golden Pagoda in Myanmar, built in 585 BC, has been inlaid with rubies. China called ruby "the pearl of light" in the Biography of Southwest in the later Han Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, rubies were widely used in court jewelry, and rubies were embedded in the crowns of several generations of queens. It is also clearly stipulated in the crown system of officials in the Qing Dynasty that rubies can only be used for the crowns of princes and senior officials. According to archaeological excavations, there are a pair of ruby beads, 27 ruby Buddha statues, 60 ruby apricots, 40 ruby dates, and thousands of other ruby jewelry and small sculptures.

Figure 4-2 Queen Elizabeth II wears ruby ornaments.

Ruby, as a precious gem in the world and the king of colored gems, has been one of the favorite gems of people all over the world since ancient times. Especially after 2002, due to the popularity of red tone in fashion, ruby is the darling of global jewelers, and its mining volume and sales volume are on the rise. Burmese ruby is the best-selling main product in the international market, and its market value often exceeds that of rubies in other places. Due to strong demand, its price has been rising all the way. At the auction in Geneva, a "pigeon hemoglobin" weighing 15.97ct and produced in Myanmar's ancient animal husbandry dropped its gavel at a price of $2.27 million per carat, setting the highest unit price in the world ruby auction so far. A Myanmar faceted ruby weighing 27.35 carats also won the bid at a high price of US$ 4 million, ranking second in the world in terms of ruby unit price over the years. There is a steady demand for rubies (pure in color and clean inside) from Madagascar in the international market, especially rubies over 3 carats. Compared with large-particle rubies, small-particle Sri Lankan light red rubies and Thai rubies have the characteristics of uniform color, good transparency, high purity, fine processing, etc., and their prices are acceptable to consumers, and the demand is steadily increasing (Figure 4-3). According to the analysis of authoritative sources in the international jewelry market, people pay more and more attention to the quality of rubies, which is the main reason for the rapid rise in the price of high-quality rubies.

Figure 4-3 20, 200611General trend chart of ruby price in international market.

Thailand's gem market is a trading market mainly selling raw materials and finished products from colored gems. The changes in the sales volume and price of rubies in this market have been concerned by jewelers all over the world. In Thailand, Chanthaturi, located about 250 kilometers southeast of Bangkok, is the main ruby and sapphire trading center (Figure 4-4). About 80% of rubies and sapphires in the world are wholesale by the bamboo market. Tsim Chuen's main trading market is located in several narrow jewelry streets, and the main ruby sources come from nearby Cambodia and Vietnam.

In addition to Thailand, there are small and medium-sized trading centers in Southeast Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam (Figure 4-5) and India. In the global colored gems market, the sales of rubies and sapphires account for about 30%, among which the sales of rubies are larger than sapphires. Up to now, the main consumption markets of ruby are the United States, Japan, Europe and Southeast Asian countries, and Thailand and India are the main ruby cutting and grinding bases. The ruby consumption market in China is taking shape.

Figure 4-4 Thailand Bamboo Red Sapphire Trading Market

Figure 4-5 Ruby Market in Lu 'an, Vietnam