Best sites to learn about rubies and link to my new one.

[beaujolais]

Can anyone recommend the best sites to learn about rubies? And/or what do I need to know most about them?

Oh, do they all fluoresce or just the treated ones?

I never had a decent ruby before and just got this little one and love it (color better than in the photo, btw):

http://www.diamondexpert.com/diamon...i&active=active&stock=RU00030&submit_search=1

Interesting, sort of, that I've never felt much for rubies until lately. A non-gemological friend asked why I didn't have one so I figured that was a good reason to get one. Tastes change, eh? Lately, I'm loving smaller stones & pearls.

I've got a very vintage yellow gold setting that it will be going into, btw.

Comments on little red are welcome (as I don't know much about rubies).

Thanks all.

 

[LD]

Can anyone recommend the best sites to learn about rubies? And/or what do I need to know most about them?

Oh, do they all fluoresce or just the treated ones?

I never had a decent ruby before and just got this little one and love it (color better than in the photo, btw):

http://www.diamondexpert.com/diamon...i&active=active&stock=RU00030&submit_search=1

Interesting, sort of, that I've never felt much for rubies until lately. A non-gemological friend asked why I didn't have one so I figured that was a good reason to get one. Tastes change, eh? Lately, I'm loving smaller stones & pearls.

I've got a very vintage yellow gold setting that it will be going into, btw.

Comments on little red are welcome (as I don't know much about rubies).

Thanks all.

Awwww little red is cute and I like the idea of a vintage yellow setting.

In terms of things you need to know: rubies are commonly treated (heavily). In fact over 90% of what's on the market will be treated in some way. Perhaps even more than that. If a ruby is showing as heated then other treatments may have been applied ie BE diffusion, dyeing, filling etc etc. For little red I wouldn't suggest getting a lab report UNLESS you HAVE to know if he's been treated by anything other than just heat (I'm presuming he's a he by the way!!!!!).

You asked about fluorescence? The more iron in a Ruby the more it will fluoresce whether it has been treated or not. In terms of where to find out information, there are loads of documents on the web written by Richard Hughes regarding Rubies and Sapphires. It's probably a one-stop shop for you! Here's a few links but a quick search will uncover more I'd think!

http://www.palagems.com/ruby_connoisseurship.htm
http://www.palagems.com/burma_ruby.htm
http://www.fieldgemology.org/Ruby_lead_glass_treatment.pdf

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks so very much, LD !

Is it better to have less or more iron in a ruby? (I'm not interested in a lab report, btw. I don't think I'd do a lab report except for a big money stone.)

Little Red is both a he and a she, btw.

 

[Lee Little]

The more iron in a Ruby the LESS it will fluoresce while high in Chromium will make it light up like a Christmas bulb under a UV light. The Thai Rubies are classic examples, near inert, heavy in iron. Most synthetic Rubies are classics for high fluorescence as are some clean expensive Rubies.
You have had good advise given, read Richard Hughes work to learn about Ruby. Best regards, Lee

 

[chrono]

I thought it is chromium that gives ruby its fluorescence. The less iron it has (the more chromium it has), the better the colouration and the stronger the fluorescence. Both synthetic, treated and untreated rubies will fluorescence if it has higher levels of chromium.

 

[Circe]

I actually adore fluorescence in rubies - between that and the silk, the glow is unearthly. Can't wait to see how you set it - you have one of the nicest collections I've seen, and I always look forward to new additions. And with a ruby, too - delicious!

 

[LD]

The more iron in a Ruby the LESS it will fluoresce while high in Chromium will make it light up like a Christmas bulb under a UV light. The Thai Rubies are classic examples, near inert, heavy in iron. Most synthetic Rubies are classics for high fluorescence as are some clean expensive Rubies.

You have had good advise given, read Richard Hughes work to learn about Ruby. Best regards, Lee

Oooops got it the wrong way around! I never was good at chemistry! I was going to look it up when I was writing my post but didn't get round to it! Thanks for the correction Lee.

 

[beaujolais]

Oh, thanks so very much again guys ! Discussing is such a great way to learn as I remember (most) of these conversations, as opposed to just reading in a book.

"you have one of the nicest collections I've seen" Circe: me? really? Wow, thanks, that made my day ! I always though I had one of the least great collections here (except for a few really cool vintage items, I'll admit).

I just looked at Red with the uv light - crazy fluorescence !

sonoma

 

[slksapphire]

hi,

dick hughes has some very helpful articles on ruby on his website: www.ruby-sapphire.com.. also, you can read chapters from his book on rubies and sapphires. i think most people on pricescope would agree that dick is one of the world's leading experts in corundum.

 

[Lee Little]

Dick is a wealth of knowledge on virtually all gemstones. I met him to discuss Tourmaline a long time ago and it was enlightening to talk with him. I still re-read his writings at times, his style of talking and writing is also quite entertaining, best regards, Lee

 

[slksapphire]

one other suggestion. although this isn't a website, type "tqir excellent ruby" into google and you will find a bunch of listings from precisiongemstones.com. many/most are very old listings and are sold but they show a photograph of each ruby with its detailed agl prestige report ratings. pay attention to the gradings for color (lower is better) and the color scan that shows the amount of red in the gem. i've found this is a decent way to learn how to evaluate rubies in photos, though nothing beats seeing the gems live!

 

[chrono]

Thank you to Slksapphire for the heads-up on the link.