How to Tell a Ruby from a Garnet

Did you know that ruby, the most valuable colored gemstone, is also the most expensive? It is only the rare pink, blue, and green diamonds that exceed it in price per karat. But not all rubies are created equal. The ruby that is most valuable is from a small region of the globe. However, not all rubies are created equal.

The quality of gemstones is judged by their color and richness. The book Understanding Jewellery by Daniela Mascetti and David Bennett is a great resource for anyone who wants to know what to look out for in gemstones to determine their value.

Let's take a look at ruby. It is a variation of the mineral corundum. Small amounts of iron or chromic oxide are responsible for the ruby's red color.

Burma is home to the most valuable rubies. Burmese rubies are mainly colored by chromium, giving them the distinctive blood-red hue that is characteristic of the best stones. The strong fluorescence created by chromium in gemstones is also possible. Even artificial light can show the fluorescence of Burmese stones. These rubies appear as if they were internally illuminated.

Do not hesitate to view the ruby in daylight. This is the best way to determine if it is high quality. You may be surprised at the changes that can occur. If viewed in daylight, a ruby that is deep in color in artificial light might appear pale pink. Although rubies from Sri Lanka are pinker than true blood-red rubies, stones from this area can be very attractive and share the fluorescence characteristic of Burmese stones. These days, jewelry is made with a lot of Thai rubies. They can look very deceptive in daylight. Iron is a major component of Thai rubies' color. Sometimes, their color can be very similar to that of Burmese stones. However, fluorescence is not possible in the presence of iron.

Red spinel, which is more like a strawberry color, red tourmaline, garnets, and garnets may be mistaken for ruby.

This phenomenon, known as "silk", is common in both sapphire and natural ruby. The presence of it in a Redstone is a good indicator that the stone may be a ruby. It can also be infected with synthetic materials.

Since the beginning of the last century, created rubies and sapphires have been around. Synthetic rubies can be colored with chromium, and also show stunning fluorescence when artificial light is applied to them. However, if you carefully examine them under a microscope, you'll see small gas bubbles and curved color bands. These tell you that you're looking at a synthetic ruby.

A graceful white-gold ring, or any other jewelry with ruby, isn't cheap, but it will give you peace of mind that the price is worth it.

The three most common colors of gemstones that people think of are sapphires and rubies. There is however one gemstone that is literally available in every color. The lowly garnet is that gemstone. Many people believe that garnets are only available in the dark, dirty red color they see in their local mall jewelry shop. The true gemstone enthusiast knows that garnets come in other colors as well as are much less expensive to collect.

There are many possible origins of the name garnet. Most people accept that the name garnet is derived from "granatum", which is the pomegranate's seed allegedly looks. There used to be a belief that garnets could come in any color except blue. This changed when blue garnet, also known as color-change garnet, was discovered in Madagascar in the 1990s.

Ruby and Garnet are both beautiful gemstones. Just as much there is information about rubies, there is to garnets.

Garnet is the January birthstone, the traditional anniversary gift, and the state gem for Connecticut. Garnets are relatively hard in comparison with other minerals. On the Mohs hardness scale, Garnets range from 6.5 to 7.5. This is because there are many species of garnets with different hardness ratings.

Types: Garnets are made from nesosilicates, (SiO4) that have been modified with other materials, such as aluminum and iron, manganese, and calcium. Each modification results in a different species of garnet. There are many species of garnet. However, there are six that are more popular than others. These include Pyrope and Spessartine as well as Uvarovite and Grossular.

Almandines contain almost all shades of red, although some are more violet. It can be modified with iron and aluminum. Almandines can be found most often in Sri Lanka, where they are also known as "Ceylon Ruby". They are known as "Syrian Garnet" when they turn violet. This is not a name taken from Syria but rather from Syriam, an ancient Burmese city located in Pegu (Myanmar).

Pyropes come in a variety of colors, from dark red to black. Magnesium and aluminum modify their colors. The most common type is rhodolite, which comes from North Carolina mines. Rhodolites have violet/red color and are a mixture of pyrope garnet and almandine garnet. The blue color-change garnet, which is also a Pyrope, is a mix of spessartine and pyrope. The color-change garnet's color changes from green/grey in daylight to red/purple when lit incandescent.

The spessartines are available in a variety of colors, from violet/red to yellow/orange. They can also be modified with manganese or aluminum. Spessartines can be found in Australia and Myanmar, India, Afghanistan. Israel, Madagascar. Tanzania. The yellow spessartines, which are orange or yellow, are only found in Madagascar.

Andradites come in many colors, including red, yellow, and brown. Modifications of calcium or iron determine their color. It can be found in Italy and the Ural Mountains of Russia. A Demantoid Garnet is one of the most valuable gemstones. It is a green garnet that can be found in the Ural Mountains, Russia. Because of their beautiful green color, they are known as "the emeralds of the Urals". The most sought-after stones, demantoids, have a unique flaw: a yellowish feather inside the stone that looks almost like a horse's tail. These rare stones fetch high prices.

Grossular garnets are available in many colors, including red, yellow, and green. They can be modified by calcium or aluminum, but either ferrous iron or ferric iron can replace them. Grossular, also known as hessonite, is the most common. This is due to its inferior hardness to zircon (which the yellow crystals resemble). You can find green grossular garnets in Siberia and Kenya/Tanzania. Tsavorites are the name given to those found in this region, which is named after the Tsavo area in Kenya.

Uvarovites have a uniformly green color. They get this from calcium and chromium modification. Its name is derived from Russian statesman Sergei Semenovitch Uvarov who was also an amateur mineral collector. It forms fine crystals, and they are not large enough to be used as gems. They are usually viewed as a whole block of crystals, rather than individual crystals. They are found primarily in Russia but can also be found in Canada, Northern Europe, and Northwest Australia.