A major event in the tourism calendar of Rajasthan and therefore held every year in December during the peak tourist season is the Jaipur Jewellery Show (JJS). Since Jaipur is one of the world’s biggest centres for cutting and processing gemstones as well as one of the biggest markets for buying and selling gemstones, it comes as no surprise that this city is chosen as the venue, for even the mere thought of the pink city brings to mind the opulent lifestyles of the maharajas.

The Jaipur show is theme-based with a major thrust given to one particular stone; hence ruby was the theme for this year’s 13th edition of the JJS as well as for the next year. Jewellers from all over the world came to attend the four-day event and buy rubies of their choice, as well as stones of various varieties being shown and sold on a large scale. Among the highlights of the show was a ruby and diamond set worth (Indian) Rs25 million.

Believed to be the gemstone of gods — red, rare and royal — the ruby is also known as the king of all gem stones. With its magnificent colour and lustre, it is one of the hardest gemstone. For thousands of years, the ruby has been considered as one of the most valuable gemstones. The Sanskrit word for ruby is Ratnaraj, meaning king of gemstones. Its origin in India, as suggested by mythological literature, is over 2,500 years and so occupies a central position in the crowns of gods, goddesses, kings and queens.

One of the world’s most famous rubies is the Chhatrapati Manik — an oval Burmese cabochon of the very finest colour, weighing around 20 carat, and is believed to date back 2,000 years. Signifying the sun surrounded by nine other gemstones representing the planets, a ruby was set into the crown of King Vikramaditya of Ujjain in Central India, who ruled the northern Indian kingdom from 380-415AD. The famous ruby was last seen in London in 1934 as the centrepiece of a diamond tiara, but its current whereabouts are unknown.

With its magnificent colour and lustre, ruby has been considered as the king of all gems

The ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum, one of the hardest minerals on earth, of which the sapphire is also a variety. Pure corundum is colourless. Slight traces of elements such as chrome, iron, titanium or vanadium are responsible for the colour. So only red corundum qualifies as a ruby, while all other colours are classified as sapphires. The close relationship between the ruby and the sapphire has only been known since the beginning of the 19th century. Previously, red garnets or spinels were also considered rubies. The two jewels of the British Crown were named ‘Black Ruby’ and the ‘Timur Ruby’, when they were actually not rubies, but spinels.

The two magical elements associated with the symbolism of this colour are fire and blood, implying warmth and life. “Rubies go very well with diamonds as they enhance the glitter and radiance of the diamonds. Rubies will be the fashion trend for 2016 and women will buy a lot of ruby-studded jewellery,” predicts top Indian jewellery designer Pallavi Foley.

The Burmese ruby that is found in Myanmar has a rich full-bodied red tone with a slight bluish tinge often referred to by jewellers as pigeon-blood-red. The colour of a Burmese ruby is regarded as exceptionally vivid. It is said to display its unique brilliance in any light, be it natural or artificial. Rubies of Vietnamese origin generally display a slightly purplish hue. Rubies from Thailand, another classical supplier, however, often have a darker red with a brown tone. Ceylon (Sri Lankan) rubies, which have now become very rare, are mainly light red, like ripe raspberries.

The Thai ruby still has plenty of detractors in the world gem community. “To many old guard dealers, the Burmese are still the best,” said Vijay Chand Lodha, who processes ruby in Jaipur, India. “Often, Thailand surpasses even the best ruby from Myanmar, as it can be remarkably clean and lively. The Burmese ruby often has a hazy, cloudy quality that softens its appearance and makes it less brilliant but the Thai ruby often can be cut in spectacular fancy shapes, including marquise shapes and emerald cuts,” said A. Wut Phanumas, a ruby dealer from Bangkok, while comparing rubies from Thailand and Burma.

Maria Doulton, a gem and jewellery analyst explained why rubies from Myanmar are considered most precious. “Higher in value than sapphires or emeralds, and often more valuable than diamonds, the most coveted rubies have traditionally emerged from the mines in Upper Burma (Myanmar). Today, these mines are virtually depleted, sending the price of the prized Burmese rubies sky high. Add to this the protracted US embargo on goods from Myanmar and it is easy to understand why gem hunters have turned elsewhere in their quest for the perfect red gem. So African rubies, particularly from Mozambique are increasingly adding their flash of rich red to high jewellery pieces.” 

Rubies are found in Pakistan in the Hunza Valley; other than that they are found in Laos, Cambodia, Nepal and lately in Afghanistan as well as several African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. “In India, deposits with relatively large crystals were discovered in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. These crystals have many inclusions, but they are, nevertheless, eminently suited to being cut as beads or cabochons. More recently, large ruby deposits have been found under the receding ice shelf of Greenland,” said Ajay Kala, a ruby dealer.

The Afghanistan ruby, which has been discovered just a few years, ago is also making its impact with its colour and lustre; but it’s available in small pieces only. It has beautiful red colour with a tinge of purple; this typical tone is the beauty of this stone. The mining of Afghanistan rubies is not organised well enough for it to make its mark in the international market.

Cut and carat (weight) are also an important factor in determining the price, and the world’s most expensive ruby is the Sunrise Ruby. “The price of ruby is primarily based on its colour. The brightest and most valuable ‘red’ called blood-red or ‘pigeon blood’, commands a large premium over other rubies of similar quality. Clarity like diamonds is the second important quality so a clear stone will command a premium. Diamonds are graded using criteria that have become known as the four Cs, namely colour, cut, clarity and carat. Similarly natural rubies can be evaluated using the four Cs together with their size and geographic origin,” said Shirish Poonglia, a diamond merchant.

The ruby should either be set in gold or bronze for best enhancement. Some rubies show a three-point or six-point asterism or ‘star’. These rubies are cut into cabochons to display the effect properly. Asterisms are best visible with a single-light source, and move across the stone as the light moves or the stone is rotated. Such effects occur when light is reflected off the ‘silk’ (the structurally oriented rutile needle inclusions) in a certain way. This is one example where inclusions increase the value of a gemstone. Furthermore, rubies can show colour changes — though this occurs very rarely — as well as chatoyancy or the ‘cat’s eye’ effect.

“The ruby must be worn by engineers, mineralogists, goldsmiths (jewellers), actors, dramatists, artists, government officials, politicians, diplomats, merchants and aspirants to fame, stock exchanges and dealers of cloth, cotton paper and flowers. Creative people, who want fame and good health, must wear the ruby,” said astrologer Anil Sharma.

There are techniques to enhance and treat the gemstone to meet the customer demand. Nowadays most rubies that are sourced are treated, heated or fracture filled. Finding natural, non-treated rubies is very rare and costly. Gemfields, a mining company dedicated to conquering the coloured gemstone market, has added a larger number and more consistent quality of rubies to the supply chain, from its Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique. This new source is having a considerable impact on the global ruby market. Last December, Gemfields reported that its auction of Mozambique rubies raised $43.3 million — the highest in history.

The Alan Caplan ruby, named after the geologist who bought the 15.79ct during a trip to Burma in the 1960s. Also known as the Mogok ruby, it is widely considered to be one of the finest rubies ever seen. It set a world record per carat when it was sold at Sotheby’s New York in 1988 for $3.36m, which remained unbroken for 17 years.

The Graff Ruby, an 8.62ct cushion-cut gem, sold for $8.6m at Sotheby’s auction at Geneva in 2014, setting a world auction record for a ruby. That record was surpassed in 2015 by the Burmese 25.59ct Sunrise Ruby, which became the most expensive coloured gemstone ever sold at auction when it fetched $30m to more than $1m per carat — at Sotheby’s  auction at Geneva.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 17th, 2016