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Rubies are by far the most coveted gemstones, of all precious gemstones. Owning a ruby ring is like being treated like a queen.

Rubies like all gemstones, can be treated, or completely natural, with no enhancements. To get a genuine ruby ring, with no treatment, is not only rare, but can be very expensive. Heat treatments are used to enhance color. While a new treatment called fissure filling, enhances the clarity of the gemstone, by filling in cracks, and fissures.

Ruby is actually a member of the corundum family of minerals. If the ruby is too light in color, it would be a pink sapphire, not a ruby. The finest color is what they call the “pigeon blood red” color. While that name is not used so much today, it does mean the finest red color like blood. Rubies are not actually rare. They are quite abundant, and are usually of the opaque variety. Opaque rubies, means that you can not see through the gemstone at all. While an opaque ruby ring, can still be quite stunning in red color, sometimes they are less valuable due to the opaque nature of the gemstone. A translucent ruby ring, would mean you can see through the gemstone, allowing light to pass through it. These translucent rubies, with fine red color, would be the ultimate ruby ring to own.

Rubies are very durable, with a hardness of 9, on the Moh’s Hardness Scale. The scale only goes to 10, with only diamonds being harder than a ruby. A ruby ring would be durable, and last for generations, and generations. You could literally have an heirloom ruby ring, that your daughter, and grandchildren could wear someday.

Rubies are usually set in ring settings made of gold, or platinum. Due to the expense of purchasing a fine ruby ring, you would want it to be set in the finest of metals. Though I have seen very fine rubies set in sterling silver, which is of course a more affordable metal to buy. It would all come down to personal preference when purchasing your ruby ring.

When setting out to purchase such a piece be sure to have a price set in your mind. Ask questions about treatments, inclusions, and the value of the ring. It is always best to have your most valuable ruby rings to be appraised by a certified gemologist, who would know the true value of the creation. Be sure to have it insured, for safety reasons.

Ruby rings and other jewelry containing this beautiful blood-red gemstone have been coveted for centuries, both by royalty and by ordinary people who could afford to acquire them. One of the concerns with owning ruby rings however is deciding whether it is genuine or just a worthless imitation. This is a problem that was encountered historically also, and pieces of royal jewelry have been confirmed in recent times as having fake rubies set into them. The usual imposters are garnets and spinels, which can be made to look like rubies, but nevertheless are not the real deal.

So if you own a ruby ring, how do you know if it is real or not? The simple answer is to take it to an expert and have the gemstone tested. This is the only trustworthy way of knowing for sure. There are some things you can bear in mind though to give you more confidence in your ruby.

The first thing to do is a visual inspection. If the ruby is perfect and flawless in every way, without any internal scratches or inclusions, you might have a dud. Without a professional verdict, this is not a foolproof method, but your ruby ring is far more likely to be genuine if the gem has some minor imperfections, or is slightly cloudy in appearence. These may detract from the beauty of the stone, but are more indicative of a ruby that was formed naturally.

Lots of surface scratches are also a dead giveaway that it is a fake, especially if the ring was brand new and perhaps given to you as a gift. Often you will unknowingly catch the ring on surfaces that might cause damage; if the stone is a ruby, it is very unlikely it will get scratches on its surface, as ruby is an extremely hard material. Only other rubies and diamonds will cause surface damage, so if you can rule this out and yours is covered in these tiny scratches, it probably isn’t genuine.

Unfortunately, there are many commercial techniques available now that can make other stones look like ruby, and that can chemically alter sub-standard rubies to make them look superior, and so the best advice is to get an expert to take a look at yours to determine its value – and for most people, they wear their ruby ring because it looks fantastic. So unless you bought it as an investment, maybe it’s best just to enjoy it whether it is real or not!