Principles and Guides of Ruby Selection Process To Create Sophisticated & Flawless Graceful Pieces

Our artists have an exceptional mastery over the understanding of metals and gemstone color and optics. We carefully source the finest of Rubies - to please the eye, with a fluid outline - to soothe the soul, and with a depth of carving - to capture the mind with all the senses.

Understanding and determining Ruby Color

Rubies are the red variety of the mineral corundum and they got the name from the Latin word "ruber," meaning red. Corundum of any other color is called Sapphire. Pink corundum is called Pink sapphire. To understand the color factors that affect the value of Ruby, we need to understand the concept of color

Hue: Hue refers to the ruby's basic color such as red, orange and purple as well as transition colors like orangy red and purplish red - Brown, black, gray and white are not hues. Ruby Hues range from Red, Slight Orange, Strong Orange, Slight Purple to Strong Purple. Red is ideal.

Tone: Tone refers to the amount of color in the ruby ranging from very light to very dark. Ruby Tone ranges from Medium, Dark, Very Dark, Light to Very Light. Medium to Medium Dark Tones are preferred by the trade though Medium is ideal.

Color Purity : Color purity (also called Saturation and Intensity) is the extent to which the hue is masked by brown or gray. GIA color grading system terms color purity as �Saturation�. While American Gemological Laboratories uses the word �Intensity� to refer to color Purity. Ruby Saturation shows color-purity range from Vivid, Strong, Medium, Fair to Weak. Vivid is ideal.

The most highly rated and preferred ruby colors tend to be vivid, pure and highly saturated devoid of brown or gray. We often see dark black or gray areas in the ruby, termed as �extinction� by GIA. Extinction is affected by the tone, cut, the amount of red fluorescence type of lighting and lighting position. Fewer areas of extinction are preferred. Lighter-colored, shallower stones normally show less extinction than dark or deep-cut stones.

At Sparkle and Dazzle we offer a large variety of Rubies with deep red colors to please the eye with a range of tones from �Medium� to �Medium Dark� with our standard for red rubies being �Medium deep-red� range. Every ruby is carefully chosen with �Strong� to �vivid� saturation.

The different tones of and possible brownish tints in Ruby are distracting, Moreover rubies are a blend of two colors- Purplish red or orangy red, red and orange or Purple and Red. When you look at rubies from different directions while moving them, you can sometimes see the two colors. This is due the optical property called Dichroism, whereby light is split into two different colored rays which are polarized at right angles to each other. When Rubies are cut dichroism is a major consideration. In Rubies the purest, most desirable color is normally produced when the stone is cut and oriented so that there`s only a single direction of red color through the table. This can be determined with the help of a dichroscope. If the stone is perfectly oriented you will see only one color through the dichroscope. Cutters always have to compromise between top color and the weight they recover from the rough in order to produce the most valuable stone

To examine color and brilliance of Rubies clean them with a soft cloth and examine their face up view against a variety of backgrounds, like white background, black background and next to your skin. A pale looking stone against white background or disappearance of red colored glints on a black background is undesirable. The Ruby needs to look good next to your skin. Unlike diamonds that have a proper color-grading system, rubies lack a convenient method to grade their color due to the extreme ranges of tone, hue and color purity in rubies. Judging the ideal color in a ruby is largely left to the eye of the beholder.