Ruby

Ruby is the birthstone of July. That’s fairly common knowledge to many, but like so many of the best gemstones, ruby gemstones are a favorite precious stone favored in jewelry settings regardless of the month of your birth.

Rubies are said to enhance the imagination and stir the senses. Traditionally rubies are believed to bring health and guarantee wisdom. The bearer of a ruby jewel is also said to be guaranteed success in love. This is the reason that rubies are often included in bridal jewelry. A ruby wedding ring will bring continued, lifelong success in marriage.

Ruby jewelry is enjoyed for its rich color and considered to be representative of wealth, a gem for royalty. Luckily for the rest of us, that’s just a reputation. Rubies are for everyone, and with the wide range in qualities and values of rubies, and the manufacture of man made gemstones, owning a good quality, attractive piece of ruby jewelry is an option for everyone.

Rubies are versatile precious gems that are ideally suited to every style and type of jewelry. Popular settings for rubies in jewelry are ruby rings, ruby earrings, ruby pendants, and ruby necklaces. Of these, the most sought after pieces are ruby earrings and ruby rings. A ruby ring is an excellent piece for anyone, man or woman, to own, but the rich, ruby red color is one that is a fashion favorite of women. A ruby gem stone ring is an ideal gift for a woman or young woman with a July birthday; it is an especially nice gift for a milestone birthday such as a sixteenth, eighteenth, or twenty-first birthday when it is often considered a girl enters young adulthood.

The ruby mineral is in the corundum family. Rubies are the red version of this mineral. As with almost every precious gem, the value of a ruby is partially (primarily) determined by the color of the stone. Ruby stones that are darker in color are worth the most. The most valuable colors of rubies are medium reds, medium dark vivid reds, or reds that are slightly purple in color (‘purplish red’ on a ruby guide for color and quality). Lighter colored rubies, more toward pink on a ruby guide, are not considered true rubies; they are considered fancy-colored sapphires. This is also true for rubies that are too purple or orange in color.

The best way to shop for rubies is to read any certifications and/or gemstone descriptions. Jewelers are good sources of ruby grading information, too, but in many instances jewelry store personnel are simply relating the information given to them by wholesalers. Realistically what this means is that shopping online for rubies is not much different than shopping for rubies in person at a traditional jewelry store, and that you can get the same information either way as long as you are shopping reputable sources.

To further protect yourself when shopping online, be sure to check an online ruby seller’s return policies; if in doubt, you can have the ruby examined by an expert jeweler or gemologist and if any problems arise, return the gem to the online jeweler. The greatest benefit to shopping for rubies online is that there is an endless selection of rubies available on the internet, with better choices in quality, size, and shape, and many at extremely reasonable prices.

Buying a ruby for a July baby is an obvious choice, but July buying for anyone is worth serious consideration. The gift of ruby jewels shows that you believe the recipient to be of high worth and wisdom; a ruby shows your love and commitment to the person to whom you give the gift of a ruby gem. Rubies are timeless messages of love and value.