WINTER | 2014
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he ruby is distinguished, and known,
for its fiery red colour, which can range
from a bright red to dark reddish-brown,
the most sought-after colour being a
deep blood red, referred to as ‘Pigeon's Blood’.
Aside from its alluring colour, its other qualities
(hardness, durability, lustre and rarity) have made
the gem extremely desirable over the millennia.
In fact, clear rubies of large sizes are even rarer
than diamonds. Like diamonds, their price is
determined by colour and clarity and because red
is the colour of love, rubies are often chosen as
engagement rings.
The ruby is a member of the corundum
(aluminium oxide) family of gemstones, the red
colour coming from the presence of the element
chromium. Technically-speaking, the ruby is a red
sapphire as both rubies and sapphires are identical
in all properties except for colour.
Red is the colour of our most intense emotions
– love and anger, passion and fury and it’s
associated with objects of power and desire. Early
cultures treasured rubies for their similarity to the
redness of the blood and believed that rubies held
the power of life.
A 40
TH
ANNIVERSARY
is celebrated with the gift of rubies,
so we thought we’d celebrate the occasion by sharing some
interesting information on this, the king of gems.
RUBIES 40
TH
ANNIVERSARY
rubies
the
price
of
t
RCI.co.za
By Alex Bailey
