The ruby has been admired by man throughout he ages. It has been coveted for it’scaptivating color and rarity. It is made of surprisingly simple elements, and can befound mostly in southern Asia. It has been a symbol of love since ancient times, and isstill highly prized and very expensive today.The ruby is a made of corundum, which is a mineral form of aluminum oxide. Itcomes in all shades of red, including pink. Sapphires are also made of corundum, andinclude nearly all colors of the spectrum, (most famously blue), except of course for red. The red color of the ruby is caused by trace amounts of the element chromium. Rubyhas a hardness of 9 on Mho’s scale, making it the hardest mineral second only todiamonds. This hardness makes it a very durably stone and therefore excellent forjewelry. It may also be used in drills the same way a diamond is, or as an abrasive, butit is actually much rarer than the diamond, and therefore more expensive, often makingthis application rather impractical. Ruby forms a trigonal crystal system, and has nocleavage but some basal parting. It’s fracture is considered to be uneven to conchodialand it’s luster is glassy. If exposed to a high temperature, it will turn green, but regainsit’s original color once it is cooled. When subjected to radiation or UV light, rubyphosphoresces with a vivid red glow. One rare form of the ruby is the star ruby. Theproperty it exhibits (when cut properly) is called asterism. A six-rayed star can be seeninside of the stone. The star is best visible when the stone is illuminated by a singlelight source, and will move across the stone as the light is moved. This effect is causedby light reflecting off of tiny rutile needles called “silk” which are oriented along thecrystal faces. These stones are very highly prized. The most famous source of rubies is Burma, India, which is now calledMyanmar. These rubies tend to hav...
