Ruby Of all gemstones, the ruby is widely regarded as one of the most valuable, and most precious of the twelve birth stones. It is the birthstone for July and the word, "Ruby" comes from the Latin word "Rubeus," meaning red. With its deep red color it has come to represent love, passion, sexual desire, and power. Myanmar formally known as Burma is the best known source of fine quality rubies.

Rubies are of exceptional color, quality "Pigeon's Blood" red or often called Burmese Ruby regardless of their origin. Pigeon blood rubies refer to stones that display the most desirable shade of red known as pigeon blood, which is a blood red ruby with a hint of blue. Burmese rubies are a general term referring to rubies with exceptional color and usually but not necessarily from Burma Currently, the United States has banned all imports from Myanmar including gems in an effort to promote democracy in that country. Many dealers don't feel that this has an effect on the Ruby prices as many of those Myanmar gems are imported from Thailand, where they are cut and polished, making it difficult to control. Other sources of Rubies include Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Brazil and Cabodia. Rubies are the red variations of the mineral corundum, with all other colors being called sapphires; white sapphires, pink sapphires, etc. Corundum is one of the hardest minerals, except for the diamond. It is a 9 on the mohs scale with diamond being a 10. The rich red color is caused by the substitution of a small number of aluminum atoms by chromium atoms. Pure corundum is a colorless crystal but it occurs in a wide variety in colors due to the penetration of other elements. All color variations of corundum with the exception of rubies are called sapphires. Ruby Folklore: Medical literature from India around the 13 th century says a ruby can cure digestive disorders. Other ancient cultures believed that rubies brought peace and prosperity. If you wore a ruby ring it would bring health, wealth, wisdom, and love. Some even believed that if you wear ruby rings or a ruby brooch on the left you have a magical ability to live among your enemies in peace.