Ruby Ruby Ruby

Its July, the sun is shining and we are ready for summer here at Coleman Douglas Pearls! Not only does July bring the hope of a glorious summer it also brings us a new birthstone – The Ruby. It is said that ruby was attributed to the month of July as its fiery red colour epitomises the fiery heat of the sun . . . Even if our British weather isn’t quite up to this standard there are other reasons to love rubies! The deep red can evoke feelings of passion and love and was regarded by ancient Hindus as the king of gems.

Ruby is the popular name given to red corundum, with all other varieties of corundum being referred to as . . . Sapphires! So rubies are technically a red sapphire with their most important attribute being intensity of colour. After colour then the stones clarity is considered. Rubies have a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale which ranges from 1-10 with diamond being the hardest at 10. This makes rubies an excellent stone for everyday rings and are a popular engagement ring choice.

The most expensive ruby ever to sell at auction is the Sunrise Ruby which sold for $30million in May 2015 to a Swiss buyer. It is a 25.59-carat, cushion-cut, untreated “pigeon blood” red Burmese ruby, which is set into a Cartier ring and flanked by white diamonds. This meant that the buyer was paying over $1million a carat! Several ruby set pieces from Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery collection also sold well at auction in 2011 including a ring set with an 8.24 ct ruby that broke the ‘price-per-carat’ record for rubies ($512,925 per carat, i.e. over $4.2 million in total) at the time, and a necklace that sold for over $3.7 million.

Although we are pearl specialists, we do also have an expanding line of gemstone jewellery at our pearl jewellery store on Beauchamp Place, London. Be sure to pop by and pick up some summer heat to wear all year round!