Ruby - The Zest for Life Stone
Their blood-red colors are universal symbols of love and passion. Warriors took them to battle for courage. Indian folklore claimed they allowed people to live with their enemies at peace. Rubies, the birthstone of July, can command the highest per-carat price of any colored stone. They have always stood for wealth and success and also shine as the gem for both the 15th and 40th wedding anniversaries.
Perhaps the world’s best-known rubies were those on Dorothy’s slippers in the Wizard of Oz. To honor the movie fifty years after its release, designer Harry Winston created a pair of slippers with 1,500 carats of rubies that sold for more than three million dollars. Rubies shine on rings, bracelets, pendants and shoes. The finest are found in Myanmar, but rubies are also mined in
Thailand, Africa, Australia and the USA.
The name ruby is derived from the Latin word ruber, meaning red, and all rubies are red, sort of. The most prized rubies are vibrant red with an almost purple hue, sometimes called – “pigeon’s blood” – but when the red becomes too light, they are often called pink sapphires. Technically, rubies and sapphires come from corundum, and any stone not red is known as a sapphire. It’s the presence of chromium makes the ruby red and fills anyone who wears them with love and passion.