Where does your ruby belong to?

Some people use Burmese in reference to quality of ruby but it is a wrong practice. Burmese actually represents the origin of stone. Origin of a stone affects its price in the sense that some of the mines are rare and have a repute of producing good quality stones. This off course does not mean that a mediocre quality ruby from Burma would prize higher than a good quality ruby from Sri Lanka. Origin comes into play when we are differentiating among some of the finest assortments. Below are few parameters that might help one identify right origin of ruby.

Burmese ruby:

Mines of Burma, Myanmar have a repute of producing fine quality rubies. These rubies are at their best with pinkish red and purplish red color. Apart from their primary hue they are also optimal at their tone being medium to medium dark in color. They have a pure color with least gray masking and extinction areas. They display color zoning with pink overtones. Intense tones and color purity result in good saturation.

Sri Lankan ruby:

Unlike Burmese rubies, Sri Lankan rubies do not display any pink overtones. They are mostly purplish red to red in color. In addition to this they have a wider band of tone ranging from medium to very light. Although they have fewer extinction areas and lest gray masking, their color is unevenly distributed.

Thai/Cambodian ruby:

Cambodian rubies fall next to Burmese and Sri Lankan rubies in terms of quality and range from purplish red to orangey red in color. Their basic color is often marked by gray to brownish hue and has lot of black extinction areas.

Apart from above ruby deposits are also found in Tanzania, Madagascar, Vietnam, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. A small number of rubies have been found in the U.S. states of Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Recently deposits of ruby were also found in Greenland and Kenya. However, rubies from these regions are neither prominent in quality nor these mines produce high quantity of commercial qualities.

About Ruby | Gemstone Cuts | Gemstone Clarity and Transparency | Gemstone Carat vs price | Gemstone Origins | Ruby Jewelry | Loose Rubies | Ruby Color