Indian gold jewellery | Jewelry designs | Silver jewelers | Jewels Guide

A ruby is a pink to blood-red gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires.

Ruby is one of the most desired gems, which are used as jewelries. The vivid and intense red color of this gemstone attracts all. Rubies come in a variety of colors, some of the rubies are red with a tinge of yellow or orange and some are red with blue or purple tones.

The shades of natural ruby vary from light to dark red. The variations of undertones in rubies add to the charm and individuality of the rubies. Ruby jewelry has a universal appeal and a favorite to all. Ruby bears the color of red, which is the symbol of love and passion, and this adds to the demand of ruby as jewelry.

As jewelry, Ruby has been in demand since ancient times. Some of the famous rubies in the world are:

* The DeLong Star Ruby: It is a famous ruby, which is housed in the Natural History Museum in New York City. This fascinating ruby weighs 100.32 carats.

* The Hixon Ruby Crystal: This lovely ruby weighs 196.10-carat and reputed as one of the most perfect large ruby crystals in the world. Frederick C. Hixon donated this ruby to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles in 1978.

* The Midnight Star Ruby: This is a world famous ruby, which is deep purplish-red in color and weighs 116.75-carat. This wonderful ruby adds to the collection of the New York Museum of Natural History.
* The Neelanjali Ruby: This is the largest double-star ruby in the world. With a 12 point asterism, the Neelanjali Ruby weighs ,370 carats and belongs to G. Vidyaraj in Bangalore, India.

* The Rajaratna Ruby: This is the largest ruby in the world and weighs 2,475 carats. This ruby has 6 point asterism and this makes it the world's largest star ruby. It belongs to Mr. G. Vidyaraj.

* The Rosser Reeves Ruby: This is one of the world's largest and most beautiful star rubies which weighs 138.7 carats.