There are various places you can buy loose rubies.

The ruby is a transparent red corundum. Corundum is the mineral name for aluminum oxide. Ruby is usually a shade of pink or red. Sapphires are also included in this class of gemstone because of their shared characteristics but sapphires are usually of another color such as blue for example.

With gemstones hardness of the stone is important. Corundum has a hardness of 9, just below diamond which is 10 on the Mohs hardness scale.

When looking for loose rubies probably the most important factor to look at is color. Many people prefer the deeper rich almost blood red color. Other like the paler pink like quality of some rubies. So one looks at the hue and the tone. The hue refers to the actual color of the stone. Tone refers to how deep the color goes. Also is the color even? Some stones can show a banding and this would lessen the value.

Turning the stone around and looking at it from all angles, even upside down. This will tell you if the stone has banding under but not shown on the top if it has been cut to hide the banding. A banded stone is not worth as much as a full colored stone.

Other factors to consider are the clarity and cut of the stone. Especially when it comes to setting. Is the cut suitable for a ring setting? Or a pendant for example.

When selecting loose rubies then you would most likely want all the same color so they can be put into rings or a necklace say. The color should match your skin tone and even your nail varnish. All these points should be considered with choosing the color of loose rubies.

Choosing colors generally requires a little more thought that colorless stones such as diamonds which tend to go with everything.

Loose rubies should be cleaned in a bowl with warm soapy water and rinsed well then dried completely. Do not use detergents or bleaches or any chemicals. These can cause scratches and ruin the surface of a ruby.

With a little though, one can have some fantastic loose rubies to set into jewelery that will last a lifetime and give much pleasure!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 8th, 2006 at 7:31 pm