How and where are Rubies formed and found?

Rubies are formed from the mineral Corundum.  Corundum is a popular mineral known for two valuable gemstones.  The first being Sapphires, this incredibly attractive gemstone comes in a variety of colors including blue, yellow, orange, green, etc.  The second type of Corundum gemstone is a ruby. Rubies have the unique privilege of only coming in a single hue- a magnificent red. 

Corundum is made from aluminum, and oxygen.  It is scientifically written as Al2O3.  It should be noted that many trace elements include iron, chromium and titanium.  Corundum is an extremely hard mineral and scores a 9 on the Moh’s Hardness scale.  It is second only to the hardest substance on earth- the Diamond.  Corundum is found usually where silica sands are not.  While many gemstones come from silica, including Quartz’s, Corundum is usually mined away from these types of rocks.

Rubies are much less common and naturally don’t usually occur often.  Rubies are usually the result of chromium and titanium inclusions in Corundum.  They are truly exquisite stones and the right color ruby at a large size can be worth more than even a Diamond.

Corundum can usually be found in alluvial and eluvia deposits similar to diamonds.  Corundum can also be found in pegmatite’s that are silica poor. Sapphires are the most common type of Corundum. They can be found in many regions around the world from India, to East Africa, to South America, the Hindu Kush and there are even a few deposits in the United States.

The different colors, shapes and sizes that Rubies come in

One of the most impressive gemstones in the world is the Ruby.  The Ruby comes from the mineral Corundum.  There are two major gems that come from this mineral and they include the Sapphire and Ruby. It wasn’t known until the early 1800’s that both the Ruby and Sapphire were both the same mineral.

Rubies have the honorable distinction of being the red colored gemstone from the mineral Corundum.  Rubies come in two major hues reddish pink and Ruby red.  Rubies can include the most beautiful intense and deep reds of any gemstone and because of this trait; the Ruby was possessed by many kings and queens from the beginning of civilization.

It should be noted that Rubies are a great gemstone for ornamental jewelry and they are extremely hard due to the mineral Corundum which the Ruby is made of, only the diamond is harder than the Ruby.  Rubies can be cut into a multitude of shapes and can be set in almost any type of jewelry piece such as rings, bracelets, earrings, charms and brooches.  However, for top quality rubies, they are usually set in beautiful gold or platinum rings.

A beautiful red ruby usually comes in sizes of less than 3 carats.  While a few stones are bigger, they are usually not as good in color quality.  Large Ruby stones that are excellent quality, can easily rival diamonds in price.

Synthetic Rubies are also available and they are an option for those that are looking for a more affordable gemstone.  Usually synthetic Rubies look very convincing and besides coming in red, they can come in other types of Corundum gemstones such as Sapphires.