The holy men of India were the first to write extensively on rubies. For many thousands of years Sri Lanka, a small Island to the south of India was the only producer of rubies of such quality that possessed all the virtues for which ruby is such a prized gem today. The pure red color is the most
sought after attribute. The red should be as rich and vivid as that of a traffic stop light. It will also have a slight neon glow because of its fluorescence. It will have a soft silky appearance due to the presence of tiny microscopic pieces of rutile that most people in the trade call “silk”. See what rubies from the ground look like to the right.
The very idea that gems possess both positive and negative talismanic powers was widely accepted in Europe until the coming of the Industrial Revolution. In the modern world we simply see a gemstones as just that, however very few people in history would see gems merely in a secular sense as objects of bodily adornment. The ancients saw gemstones, especially rubies as magical, mysterious, and even mystical.
Ruby jewelry has always been popular in the far east and perhaps less so in the US because of our obsession with colors on the other side of the color spectrum. The cooler blues, violets and greens have always been of more interest to Americans in terms of gemstone. Nevertheless, ruby has its own legion of passionate followers who value red above all else. Ruby jewelry sets have been quite popular especially matching sets of jewelry ruby rings, earrings,bracelets and pendants.
Ruby ring jewelry is the most worn type of ruby jewelery on this side of the world. In the far east, especially in India, rubies are used in this very drippy bridal jewelry and very often cabochons are used because they are easier to match for color than the faceted rubies. Entire suites of ruby jewelry must be made for the Eastern bride as part of her trousseau. Check out this suite of ruby jewelry to the right below. This is very typical of Indian trousseau jewelry.
Americans and Europeans on the other hand prefer single stone ruby ring jewelry comprised of a bigger center stone that is either a faceted or a cabochon ruby set in the center of a mounting with diamond accents. Modern day settings frequently use lots of pave diamonds to highlight the beautiful red color and soft sheen of a fine ruby.
Burmese ruby jewelry is the most prized in terms of country of origin. Burma has been known to produce the best quality rubies out of all the famous ruby mining countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka. Most rough rubies from the mining centers are sold in suites of similar colored ruby parcels because this is the most effective way for manufacturers to sort and produce a ruby jewelry set with stones that match each other across different jewelry categories like rings, earrings and pendants.
The red color of ruby of course lends itself very well to the design of ruby heart jewelry. I mean we
always see hearts depicted in a red color so what better gemstone to use than rubies for heart jewelry. Rubies are usually set running the full perimeter of the heart. Because rubies are fairly hard and tough, they are ideal for withstanding the rigors of channel setting without breakage and are often used in channel set wedding band like the one to the right.
You will see a lot of ruby heart jewelry, even antique ruby jewelry in the theme of hearts that use channel set baguette rubies in both straight line and tapers to form the lines of a heart for an incredibly clean look that shows a lot of surface area in the bright red color of rubies.
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