Ruby (excellent natural un-heated un-treated stone)

Item Description

Ruby gems are some of the most popular and valuable stones in the world. With that said, the vast majority of Rubies you'll find on the market have been treated in one respect or another to improve their color or clarity. Some Rubies are glass-filled to make them more clear, while others are heated to remove some internal "silk", also a means of improving clarity and sometimes color. This particular gem was cut from a piece of rough found at the famous Jagdalek Ruby Mine in Afghanistan, and is 100% natural, with no heating or treatment whatsoever. We bought the rough directly from the source, and had the stone cut locally by a friend. You'll note that the color is a pinkish-red hue, which is perfectly acceptable for Ruby, because there are plenty of pinkish stones that come from places like Mogok, Myanmar which are also considered Rubies with a pink hue. I've been told that it's the chromium content in the stones that creates the red/pink hue, and the more chromium creates a darker red hue, but even a moderate amount of chromium still counts when it comes to calling the stone a Ruby. By contract, Sapphires do not have the same chromium content, so there is a difference between a pinkish Ruby and a pink Sapphire from what I understand. With that said, it's incredibly rare to find natural, untreated Rubies on the market from most localities, and fine quality gems from Jagdalek are especially rare in any capacity. This beautiful stone has a fine "Cushion" cut with only very very slight incluisons and the color just jumps out at you, even in a smaller size like this. For reference, the stone is valued at $3,000 per carat retail for the fact that it's not only superb quality, but untreated Rubies carry a high retail value across the board.