Ruby is a beautiful and transparent gem-grade corundum. Ruby's English name is Ruby, which comes from Latin? Rupert. , which means red.
Ruby, with its crystal-clear and beautiful color, was covered with mysterious and supernatural colors by the ancients and regarded as an auspicious thing. As early as ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome, it was used to decorate mosques, churches and monasteries and as a tribute to religious ceremonies. Together with diamonds and pearls, it has also become an indispensable ornament on the crowns and dresses of the kings of the British Empire and the czars of Russia. Ruby has been among the top five gems in the world since it entered the people's society for nearly a hundred years, and it is a precious gem variety. World gemmology defines ruby as the birthstone of July.
There are not many ruby producing areas in the world, mainly Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia and China. But in terms of gem quality, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are the best.
The most common ruby shapes include emerald, pear, princess, oval and water drop. Unlike diamonds, rubies are rarely round and heart-shaped.
Like diamonds, the weight of rubies can be calculated in carats (also known as carats).
1 carat = 200mg = 0.2g A carat is divided into one hundred parts, and each part is called one point. 0.75 carat is also called 75 cents, and 0.02 carat is 2 cents.
Other things being similar, with the increase of ruby weight, its value increases geometrically.
The appreciation of ruby mainly depends on its color. Ruby should be bright red and pure. Generally, deep red is the best color density. If the color is too dark, the price will decrease, for example, in Myanmar? Pigeon blood red? It is the best ruby. Another focus of ruby appreciation is the flaw. Ruby generally has cracks, and rubies without any cracks and defects are rare. Why? Ten Hong Jiu cracks? . However, the cracks, inclusions and other defects of gems should not be too obvious, which can not affect the overall beauty. The weight and cutting of gems are also the key to affect their grades.
The most common flaw in rubies is a kind called. Silk? . Because each ruby is formed in its unique environment, each gem contains trace mineral combinations, which give it accurate color and unique identification marks or impurities. Although there are many rubies with higher purity than emeralds, rubies without internal defects are very rare and expensive.
Impurities in light and medium rubies are usually obvious. Because rubies generally contain impurities, it is necessary to choose rubies with darker colors, which can effectively hide impurities.
Unlike diamonds, rubies are not cut geometrically to achieve maximum brilliance, such as "ideal" cutting of diamonds.
When you check the cutting of a gem, you should see if the cutting reveals the beauty of the gem. For example, for a ruby with a darker color, the best cut is shallower than the average level, so that more light can pass through the gem, while for a ruby with a lighter color, the deeper cut is beneficial to reflect the color.
Like diamonds, a high-quality colored gems usually has a cut surface, a crown, an edge, a dome and a bottom. The dark or white area in the center of ruby is the result of cutting too deep or too shallow. A well-cut ruby is symmetrical and will reflect light evenly on the whole surface. Polishing should be smooth without any cracks or scratches. In addition, a well-cut ruby does not show the color band that often appears in corundum crystals: the appearance of this color band usually indicates that the cutter wants to preserve the weight, rather than cutting the most beautiful gem as much as possible.
Ruby in nature has different degrees of defects. The primary factor of economic evaluation is color, followed by weight, transparency and cleanliness.
As far as the value of ruby is concerned, pigeon blood red is the best, followed by rose red and pink. Generally speaking, Burmese rubies are bright red, and their value is higher than that of deep red rubies made in Thailand.
Ruby particles produced in nature are very small, and the value of gemstones increases according to the square of weight. However, if the weight of the gemstone exceeds 5 carats, it needs to be negotiated separately according to the quality of the gemstone.
Ruby in Burma. Gems are mostly pigeon blood red, rose red and pink. The color is bright but uneven, and straight ribbons are often seen. Polychromaticity is obvious. When you look at the gem from different directions with the naked eye, you can see two different colors. Twin crystals appear in the polymer sheet, and straight louver twin crystals can be seen. Cleavage often cracks along the double crystal planes of three groups of chips. These gems all contain the following inclusions to varying degrees: rotational rutile inclusions; Generally, fibrous rutile inclusions are distributed in parallel with the hexagonal cylinders of ruby crystals, forming three groups of surface nets, and the intersection angles are 60 degrees and 120 degrees respectively. When the surface net parallel to this group of inclusions is cut and polished into arc-shaped gems, when the light shines on the arc-shaped surface, there will be six starlight, that is, star-shaped rubies. If the fiber contents are irregular and dense, they will appear translucent milky white floc patches. Diffuse gas-liquid inclusions: dispersed in gemstones, in which gas occupies a small area, about 30%. If gas-liquid inclusions gather together and spread like fingerprints, they are called fingerprint gas-liquid inclusions. Short columnar and granular network inclusions: Ruby often contains mineral inclusions such as spinel, calcite, sphene and hematite. The edges and corners of these small minerals are rounded by melting. Ruby from Sri Lanka. The characteristics of gemstones are similar to those of Burmese rubies, but they are lighter in color and brighter in brightness. The inclusions in Sri Lankan rubies are similar to those in Burmese rubies, and there are two unique mineral inclusions: apatite inclusions, which are hexagonal columnar with smooth edges, appear as single crystals or clusters; Filamentous rutile inclusions are thinner than those in Burmese rubies.
Thailand pointed bamboo spinning ruby. The gem is reddish brown or rose red. Multi-flakes have bimorphs, and the strips and growth lines are straight. There are few inclusions, and there are no rutile inclusions in spun silk. Common fingerprint inclusions.
Tanzanian ruby. Ruby is slightly darker because of its iron content.
Selection of ruby 1, particle size: The larger the particle size of ruby, the higher its price.
2. Color: There are many colors of rubies, the best is deep pure red, followed by purplish red, followed by dark pink, purplish red and brownish red, and others such as brownish red, dark red and light pink are poor rubies. In addition, when observing rubies from the table, it is best to see only one color when rotating. If you can see other colors, it means that the ruby is not oriented correctly during processing.
3. Fire color: it is the color displayed on the front of ruby under the illumination of light source. In essence, it is a reflection of the comprehensive effects of transparency, cutting and color of a ruby. When a good ruby rotates gently (the table is facing itself), you can see that there are many little red dot in it. Flame? Flashing, for high-quality rubies, fire color should account for more than 55% of the total crown.
4. Cracks: Because cracks are common in rubies, rubies with few and thin cracks should be selected as far as possible, especially rubies with cracks passing through the center of the ruby.
Maintenance of ruby jewelry 1. Don't wear ruby and sapphire jewelry when exercising or doing heavy work, so as to avoid irreparable damage caused by collision.
2. Don't put ruby jewelry and other jewelry in the same drawer or jewelry box at will. Because all kinds of gems and metals have different hardness, they will be worn by mutual friction.
3, wearing ruby jewelry, should pay attention to check once a month, if there is any loose mosaic phenomenon, should be repaired in time.
Ruby, like other gems, will lose its luster when it is stained with oil and sweat secreted by human body. So if you wear it often, clean it once a month.
5. We should especially mention borderless and micro-inlaid jewelry here. Be careful in daily wear and try to avoid big collisions. If you find that the borderless inlaid jewelry has fallen off, you can't continue to wear it. It should be repaired as soon as possible to prevent the gem from falling off in a large area.
6. Acid and alkali substances have corrosive effects on rubies, which make rubies discolored. Therefore, in life, we should try to avoid the erosion of rubies by acid and alkali substances such as soap, washing powder and detergent.
Jewelry cleaning
1. Cleaning with mild soapy water and a soft brush is the simplest cleaning method.
2, after cleaning jewelry, you can put it on a towel without cotton wool to dry.
3. Use wax-free dental floss or toothpicks to remove dirt on gems and between claws.
4. Never use bleach. Chlorine in bleaching water will pit the alloy, decompose the alloy and even corrode the weld.
5. Avoid washing with washing powder, detergent and toothpaste containing abrasives.
6. Do not put it into detergent or acid solution for cleaning.
7. It is best to go to a jewelry store once every six months for professional work? Beauty overhaul? To ensure the luster lasts forever.