Corundum var: Ruby (old historic locality)

Item Description

Here we have a fantastic thumbnail sized example of the elusive Rubies, from the lesser-known Sivec Mountain locality in North Macedonia, which was mined for its beautiful white marble as far back as 500 BCE. Even though the purpose for mining 2500+ years ago was to obtain marble, it's fairly safe to say that the occasional Ruby crystal was found. It's a good bet that these are some of the oldest known Rubies in the western world. This piece features thick tabular, hexagonal crystals of Ruby with a lovely pink color and a slight lilac overtone. The crystals show a saturated pink hue internally when backlit. The piece is nearly a complete "floater" crystallized almost everywhere, save one small point of incomplete growth. A wonderful specimen of these classics Rubies from this notably historic locality near the ancient city of Stibera (modern day Prilep). If you collect gem minerals, or you're a fan of Ruby in general, this is not something you will find on the market in almost any capacity, so be sure to pick this one up for your collection.