The finest ruby has a pure, vibrant red to slightly purplish red color. In most markets, pure red colors command the highest prices and ruby with overtones of orange and purple are less valued. The color must be neither too dark nor too light to be considered finest quality.
Purplish red rubies – Purplish red rubies are made when chromium and titanium infiltrate a corundum crystal. Chromium is the primary metal and gives the gems a dominant red colour, while titanium gives them purple overtones. Purplish red rubies come in various shades, but most of them tend to be medium or dark.
Ruby colors can range from a deep blackish red to an orangish or pinkish red. Regardless of the combinations of other colors that can be a part of the ruby, the primary color is always red. Rubies that are on the shade of too dark can be the color of a wine color.
Rubies are by definition a medium to dark tone, primarily colored red. This means light colors in rubies are not rubies, but pink sapphires.
Rubies frequently have a secondary color. Burmese rubies, for example, are red with purple undertones. It should be noted, however, that the more obvious the secondary hues of the ruby (purple, orange), the lower the value of the ruby.
The Sunrise Ruby is the world's most expensive ruby, most expensive coloured gemstone, and most expensive gemstone other than a diamond.
In general, the more intense and uniform the color is, the more valuable the stone. Sapphires that are not blue are known as fancy sapphires, and may be any color—except red (which is a ruby). The fancy sapphire colors are: pink, orange, yellow, green, purple, and violet.
Observe the color
- Ruby: Rubies have a deep red color with a slightly purplish or pinkish hue. - Red garnet: Red garnets are lighter red, often with a purplish or brownish hue.
Ruby is defined as red corundum. The presence of chromium is largely what makes a corundum gemstone red. All other varieties of corundum, anything not red, are classified as sapphire. (Sapphires may contain a mix of chromium, titanium, and iron traces).
A fine example like the Sunrise Ruby is the rarest ruby known. Something of its quality is a one-in-a-lifetime find, as it was for Sotheby's fine jewelry auctioneer who had 40+ years of industry experience at the time of the auction.
The hue of rubies can range from strong purple to intense red to an orange-red. Its tone can be medium to dark with vivid saturation or low saturation with dark tones. If the chromium-generated color saturation is not sufficient to create a red color perception, the stone appears pink and thus becomes a pink sapphire.
As mentioned before, the most important value-determining factor of a Burma ruby is its color. If possible, look for genuine Burma rubies that exhibit the pigeon blood color. You will know that you have found the right one if the ruby contains a pure, vibrant shade of red.
The purple shades typically occur due to the presence of specific impurities, such as manganese and copper. Often, there's a slight pinkish tinge to the deep purple tourmaline color too, potentially making the color closer to a deep magenta or plum, perfect for tourmaline jewelry.
Color Change Garnet
A color-change garnet could have a dramatic shift in coloration under candle light alone, starting out reddish brown and transitioning to reddish purple or pink or beginning as a bluish-green stone and ending up purple, depending on the light sources.
Scientifically speaking, rubies and sapphires are the same mineral (corundum). Both are made of alumina and oxygen, but they just differ in color. When a corundum is red, it is classified as a ruby, and when it's blue, it is called a sapphire.
Because of their similarity in color, rubellite was mistaken for ruby for many centuries. In fact, Peter the Great (1672 – 1725) commissioned “ruby” jewelry, that was later found to be rubellite, for the Imperial Court of Russia. Because of this, rubellite may be said to keep very fine company.
Rubies are exclusively red. However, they can range in tone, saturation and secondary colors, meaning some rubies may display pink, brown, purple or orange coloration.
Rubies have a deeper and more distinct red color, while garnets, in comparison, appear lighter and paler. In addition, a ruby could perhaps even seem slightly purple, some would even say bluish. But if the hue of the stone leans towards shades such as orange or yellow, you're probably looking at a garnet.
If these crystals are indeed natural corundum, they have in fact been artificially dyed with an organic coating to give them these bright colors (blue, red, and green to simulate the emerald !?!), And thus facilitate their sale...
Answer: All rubies fluoresce, whether they're mined or created in a lab, since natural and synthetic ruby gemstones have the same chemical composition and physical properties.
Purple gemstones come in many different forms, from sapphire to alexandrite, spinel, or tanzanite. Their unique color also pairs excellently with nontraditional shapes, allowing for purple gemstones to not only be cut into classic shapes like round or oval, but also into shapes such as trillion, hexagon, or kite.
Rhodolites are purplish red garnets, a blend between almandine and pyrope in composition. These durable gems have become popular jewelry stones.
Purple Sapphire Gemstone, also known as Violet Sapphire or Plum Sapphire, is a precious gem derived out of the Corundum mineral family. Ranging from bluish-purple to purplish-pink hue, these sapphire gems contain chromium and iron together with trace amounts of titanium.
Ruby: Untreated natural rubies are extremely rare. They are actually significantly rarer than sapphires, which is why they are even more expensive. Emerald: Like sapphires and rubies, emeralds are among the rarest of all gemstones. They are rarer than sapphires but not quite as rare as rubies.