Scarlet, carmine, or crimson. Regardless of the name of the shade, the iconic red color of ruby has been coveted and collected by gem and jewelry lovers for thousands of years.

Ruby History and Lore 

Radiant red and rarer than diamonds, rubies are associated with our most intense emotions: love, passion, and fury.  Ruby got its name from the Latin word ruber meaning red and in Sanskrit rubies are called ratnaraj, which means “king of precious stones.”  Often considered the most stunning of the top 4 well-known precious gems, diamond, emerald, and sapphire being the other 3, rubies’ red glow has long been associated as a symbol of everlasting love and bringer of good fortune to those who wear it.  A multitude of ancient cultures also associate wearing rubies with attracting wealth, wisdom, success and the ability to live in peace with one’s enemies.

Since ancient times rubies have been used as the birthstone for July and the astrological sign of Cancer.  In our modern era, rubies are a common gift for 15th and 40th wedding anniversaries.

Origins and Gemology

Rubies are the red variety of the mineral corundum. In its purest form corundum is colorless and trace elements within a gem give it its color.  All other colors of the corundum family are sapphires with the most recognized shade being a deep blue, which is the result of the elements iron and titanium in the stone.

Rubies’ red color comes from traces of the element chromium, which become part the mineral’s crystal structure and causes the red to deep-pink color variations in each gem. The more chromium in a stone, the deeper the red color with the most prized shade known as “pigeon’s blood” which has the slightest hint of purple.  The chromium in rubies also fluoresces an intense red under ultraviolet (UV) light.  This occurs in natural-mined and lab-created rubies because the chemical composition of both stones is identical.  If a natural ruby has large amounts of iron in it the fluorescence will be less intense.

For over 2,000 years, rubies have been mined in India and large ruby deposits are also found in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Kenya with some of the finest quality rubies coming from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.  In 1966, rubies were discovered in Greenland near the Tasiussarssuaq fjord, about 155 miles south of Nuuk, Greenland’s capital city. In 2017, the Greenland Ruby mining company opened its state-of-the-art corundum mine site producing responsibly-sourced gem quality rubies and pink sapphires.

How to clean and store ruby jewelry

Second to diamonds on the Moh’s Scale of Hardness, rubies are one of the strongest gemstones and can be cleaned with warm water and gentle soap.  Let your jewelry pieces soak for a few minutes and then gently scrub with a soft brush (such as an old toothbrush) rinse and dry with a soft lint-free cloth.  Rubies can scratch softer stones, including pearls and opals, so it’s best to store ruby jewelry separately from your more delicate gemstone jewelry pieces. 

Please note, all metaphysical and healing properties listed are collected from a variety of sources and shared for educational, historical and entertainment purposes only. The authors and Michelle Pajak-Reynolds Studios LLC do not guarantee the validity of such statements nor is any of this information meant to treat medical conditions. If you have a medical concern, please consult your medical provider for appropriate treatment options.