How to Buy Rubies

The red ruby is one of the rarest precious gems on the planet. Rubies are created by a combination of aluminum, oxygen and pressure. Often, the elements needed to make a ruby are also what damage a ruby. Rubies frequently have inclusions, but these character flaws make the July birthstone all the more endearing.

Instructions

1. Prepare yourself for the price. Rubies are expensive. The larger and more perfect, the more pricey they are. Buying a ruby isn't something you do on a whim unless you have a trust fund. For the rest of us, purchasing a ruby is an investment, a beautiful flashy investment.

2. Avoid getting duped by dishonest jewelry dealers. Terms like Adelaide Ruby, Cape Ruby and American Ruby are fancy descriptors for different garnets. Garnets are reddish but only semi-precious and in no way comparable to a ruby. Also watch out for stones called Brazilian Ruby or Siberian Ruby; those are both forms of tourmaline, another semi-precious stone. Garnets and tourmaline are beautiful in their own right but shouldn't cost you what a ruby does. If you hear these terms and the price is too good to be true for a ruby, then walk out the door.

3. Look for a pure red color. A deep red is a good sign. A ruby that seems brownish or is very light isn't as valuable as one with a solid red color. The color should really catch the light and almost appear fluorescent red.

4. Search the stone for inclusions. The less noticeable the inclusion is with the naked eye, the better. The key is to find a ruby that fits your budget and has inclusions you can live with and won't mind. Some are only visible with a microscope and many inclusions are covered up by the cut of the stone.

5. Find rubies from Myanmar, also known as Burma. This is the largest and best mine for rubies. Burma rubies often have few inclusions and a dark color. Other places for quality rubies include Australia, Russia and the US. Rubies from Thailand and Vietnam tend to be more brownish in color. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tanzania also mine rubies.

6. Get a certificate with your ruby that guarantees its authenticity. It should clearly state where the ruby came from and its appraisal value.

Resources

• Select loose rubries and settings or pre-made ruby jewlery.