Ruby (excellent crystal) on marble

Item Description

Although Ruby is one of those minerals that it known universally, it is incredibly difficult to find specimens featuring superb quality crystals on matrix like this piece. I would like to add that not only is the crystal on this specimen very fine, but it's also UN-REPAIRED, which makes it even more desirable, as many of them are often glued back on the matrix. The Rubies from Jagdalak are among some of the most well known and superbly crystallized examples of Ruby ever found. This specimen features a remarkably sharp, very well formed, very lustrous, "plum red" color prismatic crystal with wonderful gemminess measuring 2.2 cm long sitting beautifully on a white marble matrix with minor golden colored associated Mica (likely Phlogopite). The crystal is nearly doubly-terminated, but the bottom termination is almost completely hidden under the marble. Many Ruby crystals you will see from around the world are often slightly translucent, or genuinely opaque, but THIS crystals glows with color when backlit, shows areas of near water clear clarity inside! The back of the crystal has a bit of embedded marble, but it's not damaged, and if you look closely, you will see it's fully crystallized all around. A very fine Ruby specimen from a locality that is not producing nearly as many good pieces as it did 15 years ago. Valued at $4,500 in the inventory. For reference, if this piece were from Mogok, Myanmar, I can say with certainty that the value would be higher, though it's gemmy enough that it probably would never have survived the mines and would have been faceted into a gemstone. It's important to keep this in mind when one is searching for a display quality matrix Ruby specimen.