High Quality Ruby Investments

Investment grade natural ruby gemstones. The gem trade has seen a rise in synthetic rubies with flux-induced healed fractures being offered as natural rubies. The synthetic stones, which reportedly gee from Bangkok, have been circulating in the New York trade for the past few months.
The GIA Gem Laboratory has examined more than 20 synthetic rubies of this nature, which were melt-grown using the Verneuil technique. These stones have been quench-crackled, then heated with fluxing agents, to induce healing along the fractures. This mimics the healed fractures gemonly seen in natural rubies that have been heat-treated.
The rubies can be identified by careful examination with a loupe or microscope. All of the samples I have seen showed a typical pattern of networked healed fractures and fine curved striae, and in many cases, tiny gas bubbles. In short, it looked fake and it was fake.
RUBY
Burmese, call it "King of Gems", country people call it the "desire fulfilling stone" because it makes dreams gee true. Ruby is the color of passion and love. The birthstone for July born babies, whenever mentioned, the magic word of Burma Red gees to the mind.
THE 4 Cs: COLOR, COLOR, COLOR AND COLOR.
Unlike most of Gems, color is almost the most important determining factor when evaluating a ruby. Unlike the Sapphire that gees in every possible color except red, ruby is only and always some species of red. The trade accepts a touch of purplish red overtone since it is a part of the pigeon blood red color. Pink corundum is pink sapphire. Pink rubies do not exist. They are misnomers. A slight pinkish overtone in a Burma ruby is acceptable if it does not exceed 10 or 20% of the color evaluations. Since rubies are classified as almost always included, a flawless eye-clear 2ct ruby is almost impossible to find, most evaluations go first for color, then for size and cut. Buyers, who insist in buying a large flawless eye-clear ruby, usually sacrifice the color, or the money, or the authenticity.
AFRICAN RUBIES
African rubies from the famous Sonkia Mine in Tanzania usually gee flawless to eye clean with great deal of transparency and brilliance, but they are orange red with a brownish red overtone. They can also be a brilliant raspberry color with high purple overtones. Because they are red corundum, they are Rubies, even though some jewelers mistake them for high grade garnet and sometimes misname them as red sapphires, another misnomer for ruby. A corundum is a corundum, and names are only color specific.
RUBY TREATMENT
It is possible to find an unheated sapphire in various color, understanding that you will be paying a high premium for its natural condition, but locating an unheated or untreated ruby in the gem trade these days is almost impossible. All gem labs, even GIA assumes that all natural rubies are heated to enhance color and appearance. Another treatment that is widely used and accepted for ruby, especially the larger gem grade sizes, is the filling with colorless substances such as "borax." These fillers are used to improve the clarity of the internal fractures to avoid the development of these inclusions to breakage or external fractures that may affect the gem. Because all rubies, especially the ones that gee from Burma or Thailand, are heated after they are mined, if you are buying one, assume that it is heated or filled. Ask for a certification of unfilled condition if youre told the opposite. Such treatment should be disclosed to consumer. Simply heated rubies are much more valuable than filled and heated rubies. Heating does nothing to change the stone, while filling can be abused, and result in excessive carat weights than can be deceiving.
SYNTHETIC AND LAB GROWN RUBIES
No matter how your ruby is treated, it remains identified as a natural gem. Treatment simply finishes what nature has started. Synthetic and lab grown man made Rubies are not natural gems even though they are expensive and beautiful. Rubies can be a range of colors, but always red, and a range of clarity, but always beautiful, when an investment grade stone.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has reported that synthetic ruby which has been altered to look like natural, heat-treated ruby has recently been appearing on the gem market.
The GIA Gem Laboratory has seen an increase in the number of synthetic rubies with flux-induced healed fractures that are being offered as heat-treated, natural rubies. The synthetic stones, which are reportedly geing from Bangkok, have been circulating in the New York trade for the past few weeks.
The GIA Gem Laboratory has examined more than 20 synthetic rubies of this nature, which were melt-grown using the Verneuil technique. These stones have been quench-crackled, then heated with fluxing agents, to induce healing along the fractures. This mimics the healed fractures gemonly seen in natural rubies that have been heat-treated.
The rubies can be identified by careful examination with a loupe or microscope. All of the samples I have seen showed a typical pattern of networked healed fractures and fine curved striae, and in many cases, tiny gas bubbles. In short, it looked fake and it was fake.
INVESTMENT GRADE
If rare Gems are considered portable wealth, rare rubies are one of those ultimate treasures.
Investment grade rubies are generally in the approximately 2ct size range. Other ruby investments will have to heavily weigh total carat weight (in the case of multiple gemstones) and artistic presentation.
Since color is everything in a ruby, try to get the best Burma red color your money can buy, stay away of pink colors or ones with strong purple overtones for investment purposes. These pinkish and purplish stones can be beautiful in jewelry, but they generally lack the value necessary on the market for investment. This may also change in the future, and I will update this guide from time to time with more on the valuation of off color rubies.
If you can afford eye clean or near flawless Rubies, go for it, it will more likely hold and increase in value. Eye clean Rubies do not mean that no inclusions can be seen under magnification, it means that you cant notice any distracting inclusion with your naked eye. Translucent or slightly opaque Rubies may appear eye clean, because inclusions are hidden by the fact that the stone is opaque or translucent to semi-opaque.
Transparent rubies are extremely rare, given the fact that it is a gem grade in its color. Since transparent rubies are hardly located, expect to pay much more than a geparable opaque ruby. Opaque rubies are still a good investment, especially for the middle range investor.
Poor cut rubies cant be of an investment grade. Ask how your ruby was cut and look for proportionate cut. The more beautiful your ruby is, the rarer and the more valuable it is.
Rubies are extremely durable, harder than all other gems except diamonds, 9 at Mohs hardness scale. They are beautiful gifts to express feelings of love and passion. Owning a magnificent ruby is a lifetime experience.
LEGAL GERRYMANDERING BURMA ON BURMA
Unlike most Gems, namely the exception of Colombian emeralds, rubies are sold as being from Burma or not from Burma. The best grade of Burma ruby is sold as "Burma Red" or "Pigeon Blood Color." It is the most beautiful magical red with a distinctive glow, especially in sun, daylight, sometime with a bubbly pinkish tone and purplish deep red under incandescent light. When two rubies of geparable quality are offered for sale, the one from Burma often costs twice as much or even more. No other rubies have the vibrancy of the Burmese ruby. A ruling issued by U.S. Customs