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Rare Facts & Legends

Rare Facts & Legends

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Ancient Royalty
Historically sourced from Burma, rubies were considered more valuable than diamonds in Indian and Southeast Asian courts - often reserved for kings and warriors. Ancient Burmese warriors believed rubies made them invincible in battle - and would embed them under their skin as a shield of strength.

 

Trade Value
In some ancient markets, rubies were valued above diamonds - ounce for ounce.

 

Burmese Legacy
Only a tiny percentage of the world’s rubies come from Myanmar, making true Burmese stones exceptionally rare.

 

Gem of the Sun
In Vedic astrology, ruby (Manik) is linked to the Sun - worn for vitality, success, and leadership.

Rare Facts & Legends

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Why Collectors Love Rubies: 

  • Rarity: Fine rubies are rarer than diamonds

  • Legacy: Burmese rubies hold value across generations

  • Price Curve: Quality rubies above 2–3 carats appreciate steeply

Investment
&
Collectibility

What Drives Value:

  • Origin (Burma = highest)

  • Untreated status

  • Rich colour + balanced clarity

  • Certification from top-tier labs

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What Drives Value:

  • Origin (Burma = highest)

  • Untreated status

  • Rich colour + balanced clarity

  • Certification from top-tier labs

Why Collectors Love Rubies: 

  • Rarity: Fine rubies are rarer than diamonds

  • Legacy: Burmese rubies hold value across generations

  • Price Curve: Quality rubies above 2–3 carats appreciate steeply

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Certificate
&
Assurance

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A trusted certificate confirms:

  • Authenticity

  • Origin

  • Treatment Disclosure

  • Value Benchmark

 

Top Trusted Labs:

  • GIA - Gold standard worldwide

  • GRS - Specialises in gem characterisation and origin

  • GGL - Pioneers of identification and authentication

  • SSEF - Highly respected for origin verification

  • AGL - Excellent for investment-grade rubies

  • IGI/GJEPC - Reliable for local trade

​

What to Check:

  • Stone details match what you see

  • Treatment column: Unheated/Heated clearly stated

  • Origin, carat, clarity - look for consistency

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A trusted certificate confirms:

  • Authenticity

  • Origin

  • Treatment Disclosure

  • Value Benchmark

 

Top Trusted Labs:

  • GIA - Gold standard worldwide

  • GRS - Specialises in gem characterisation and origin

  • GGL - Pioneers of identification and authentication

  • SSEF - Highly respected for origin verification

  • AGL - Excellent for investment-grade rubies

  • IGI/GJEPC - Reliable for local trade

​

What to Check:

  • Stone details match what you see

  • Treatment column: Unheated/Heated clearly stated

  • Origin, carat, clarity - look for consistency

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Clarity & Inclusions

Natural rubies often have visible inclusions - they are part of the gem’s identity and not always flaws. In fact, fine inclusions can enhance beauty and verify authenticity.

​

Common Inclusions

  • Silk (Rutile Needles): Fine, soft glow - common in Burma rubies

  • Crystals: Small internal minerals; acceptable if not disruptive

  • Fingerprint Patterns: Fluid-like veils - should not break surface

​

What’s Acceptable

  • Light inclusions that don’t affect transparency

  • Balanced internal texture in matched stones

  • No major inclusions near the surface or under the table

​

What to Avoid

  • Surface-reaching fractures

  • Milky or hazy clarity in face-up view

  • Eye-visible flaws in premium stones

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Natural rubies often have visible inclusions - they are part of the gem’s identity and not always flaws. In fact, fine inclusions can enhance beauty and verify authenticity.

​

Common Inclusions

  • Silk (Rutile Needles): Fine, soft glow - common in Burma rubies

  • Crystals: Small internal minerals; acceptable if not disruptive

  • Fingerprint Patterns: Fluid-like veils - should not break surface

​

What’s Acceptable

  • Light inclusions that don’t affect transparency

  • Balanced internal texture in matched stones

  • No major inclusions near the surface or under the table

​

What to Avoid

  • Surface-reaching fractures

  • Milky or hazy clarity in face-up view

  • Eye-visible flaws in premium stones

Clarity & Inclusions

Colour

  • Ruby colour is all about depth, purity, and balance.

  • The finest stones show a vivid, intense red that’s neither too dark nor too pink.

​

Top Trade Colours

  • Pigeon Blood Red: Intense red and glowing under light. Mostly from Burma or top Mozambique finds.

  • Pinkish Red: Common in Madagascar and heat-treated Mozambique. Lighter tone, slightly lower value.

  • Purplish Red: Seen in Tanzanian and Thai stones. May appear richer in larger sizes.

  • Orangey Red: Less common. Warm undertones, occasionally seen in African lots.

​

What Buyers Look For

  • Hue: Pure red with minimal modifiers

  • Tone: Not too dark or light

  • Saturation: Intense and even across the face

  • Fluorescence: Present in many Burma rubies; adds glow

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  • Ruby colour is all about depth, purity, and balance.

  • The finest stones show a vivid, intense red that’s neither too dark nor too pink.

​

Top Trade Colours

  • Pigeon Blood Red: Intense red and glowing under light. Mostly from Burma or top Mozambique finds.

  • Pinkish Red: Common in Madagascar and heat-treated Mozambique. Lighter tone, slightly lower value.

  • Purplish Red: Seen in Tanzanian and Thai stones. May appear richer in larger sizes.

  • Orangey Red: Less common. Warm undertones, occasionally seen in African lots.

​

What Buyers Look For

  • Hue: Pure red with minimal modifiers

  • Tone: Not too dark or light

  • Saturation: Intense and even across the face

  • Fluorescence: Present in many Burma rubies; adds glow

🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma)

Known for its vivid red with silk-like glow and strong UV fluorescence. Rare, often included, and highly valued - especially when unheated.

🇲🇿 Mozambique

Currently the largest source of gem-quality rubies. Produces stones with high saturation and clarity, especially in calibrated sizes. Top-grade stones rival Burmese quality.

🇹🇭 Thailand

Historically important, now limited in output. Known for skilled cutting and treatment expertise. Still used in smaller commercial goods.

🇲🇬 Madagascar

Yields a variety of pinkish to purplish-red stones. Often heat-treated to stabilize colour. Reliable for commercial calibrated lots.

🇻🇳 Vietnam

They often exhibit a range of colours, from pink to dark pink, and are renowned for their sharp, 6-ray star without a milky or silvery appearance

Origin &
Rarity

  • Origin affects price, color tone, and value longevity.

​

  • Certified origin adds premium, always ask for it.

​

  • Burma = Prestige. Highest demand, limited supply. 

🇻🇳 Vietnam

They often exhibit a range of colours, from pink to dark pink, and are renowned for their sharp, 6-ray star without a milky or silvery appearance

🇲🇬 Madagascar

Yields a variety of pinkish to purplish-red stones. Often heat-treated to stabilize colour. Reliable for commercial calibrated lots.

🇹🇭 Thailand

Historically important, now limited in output. Known for skilled cutting and treatment expertise. Still used in smaller commercial goods.

🇲🇿 Mozambique

Currently the largest source of gem-quality rubies. Produces stones with high saturation and clarity, especially in calibrated sizes. Top-grade stones rival Burmese quality.

🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma)

Known for its vivid red with silk-like glow and strong UV fluorescence. Rare, often included, and highly valued - especially when unheated.

Origin & Rarity

  • Origin affects price, colour tone, and value longevity.

  • Certified origin adds premium, always ask for it.

  • Burma = Prestige. Highest demand, limited supply. 

Why
This
Gem?

  • Timeless Value: Rubies are among the rarest and most expensive gemstones, often outpricing diamonds at high quality levels.

​

  • Colour with Character: The finest rubies offer a rich, vivid red that radiates warmth, passion, and prestige.

​

  • Durability That Lasts: With a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, ruby is ideal for everyday wear - from heirloom rings to contemporary fine jewellery.

​

  • Matched Layout Potential: Rubies are widely available in calibrated sizes, making them ideal for designers working on bands, earrings, and multi-stone layouts.

​

  • Cultural & Astrological Relevance: In Vedic astrology, ruby is worn to honour the Sun (Surya) - believed to promote leadership, vitality, and personal power.

Why This Gem?

RUBY

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  • Gem Family: Corundum

  • Colour Range: Vivid red, pink-red, purplish red, orangey red

  • Transparency: Opaque to transparent

  • Clarity: Naturally included to loupe clean

  • Hardness: 9 on Mohs scale

  • Key Origins: Myanmar (Burma), Mozambique, Madagascar, Thailand

  • Use Cases: Solitaires, calibrated matched sets, fine jewellery, astrology

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" The most prized rubies are known as pigeon blood - a deep, vibrant red with a hint of fluorescence. The term originated in Burma and remains the benchmark of ruby excellence worldwide."  

"Ruby symbolizes strength and leadership. In Indian astrology, it represents the Sun (Surya) and is worn to enhance vitality and confidence."

"Unheated rubies from Myanmar or vivid Mozambique lots remain top choices for collectors and trade professionals alike."

"Colour is king. A ruby’s price is driven more by colour than by size."

Cut, Shape, Light

  • Ruby is dense - it appears smaller than other gems of the same carat

​

  • Calibrated cuts in 3x4mm to 6x8mm sizes remain the industry standard - ideal for fine jewellery layouts.

​

  • Precision = more light return = more brilliance

​

What Defines a Good Cut

  • Even Proportions: Symmetry matters more than brilliance

  • Depth: Slightly deeper stones enhance saturation

  • Windowing: Avoid overly shallow stones - they lose colour intensity

  • Table Alignment: Critical for uniformity in layout-based jewellery

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Oval

Maximizes color, a timeless choice

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Pear & Heart

Romantic, rare, expressive

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Octagon

Elegant but reveals more inclusions

  • Ruby is dense - it appears smaller than other gems of the same carat

​

  • Calibrated cuts in 3x4mm to 6x8mm sizes remain the industry standard - ideal for fine jewellery layouts.

​

  • Precision = more light return = more brilliance

​

What Defines a Good Cut

  • Even Proportions: Symmetry matters more than brilliance

  • Depth: Slightly deeper stones enhance saturation

  • Windowing: Avoid overly shallow stones - they lose colour intensity

  • Table Alignment: Critical for uniformity in layout-based jewellery

"Look for stones that light up from within, not just on the surface."

" Unlike most gems, rubies increase dramatically in price with slight improvements in colour and clarity — making informed buying crucial. "

Treatments

  • Heat Treatment - Widely accepted, improves colour and clarity

​

  • Heat-only rubies = market standard

​

  • Lead Glass-Filling - Fills fractures, looks clear but fragile

​

  • Glass-filled = much lower value, reduced durability

​

  • Flux Healing - Seals fissures, may leave residues

​

  • Always ask for treatment disclosure

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  • Heat Treatment - Widely accepted, improves colour and clarity

  • Heat-only rubies = market standard

  • Lead Glass-Filling - Fills fractures, looks clear but fragile

  • Glass-filled = much lower value, reduced durability

  • Flux Healing - Seals fissures, may leave residues

  • Always ask for treatment disclosure

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" If a ruby seems too clean and low-priced — it's probably glass-filled.

Walk away."

"A Burmese ruby with an unheated certificate from GIA or SSEF? That’s investment material."

" The Sunrise Ruby sold for over $30 million, setting a world record for any colored gemstone."

" Some cultures believed a ruby worn on the left side would allow the wearer to live in peace and be invincible. "

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