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Jenna Lawson
1st August 2011 11:21

Rubies for 40th wedding anniversary presents!

 

We have had a lot of customers contacting us recently about 40th wedding anniversary presents. Rubies. are widely associated with this anniversary and I thought that I would take this opportunity to find out a little bit more about this beautiful stone. Rubies are one of the most popular gemstones, along with Sapphires, the other gemstone in the Corundum family. Ruby is the only stone in the corundum family to be limited to a colour, with deep brownish red to pinkish/ purplish red stones being classed as rubies. All gem-quality corundum that is not red is called Sapphire with paler pink stones usually classed as pink sapphires rather than rubies.

Rubies vary greatly in price depending on their quality. The finest rubies come from Burma, but they are also found in many other countries such as Afghanistan, Africa, Australia and even Greenland. Rubies are classed in a similar way to diamonds and are valued by size, colour, clarity and cut. Large rubies can be more valuable than comparable diamonds and are certainly rarer.

Some rubies, when cut into cabochon, display a six rayed star which seems to glide across the domed surface of the stone. This asterism is very rare and makes fine star rubies very valuable. This same star can be found in some cabochon cut sapphires also, and these star sapphires can vary in colour although the most prevalent are a greyish white or greyish blue.

Ruby is often linked to love and romance, making it a very fitting gemstone for jewellery to be used as a gift for a loved one. Rubies look wonderful set in eternity rings and pendants which are both excellent ideas for wedding anniversary presents. It is also a very tough gemstone, second only to Diamond, at 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, so it is an ideal choice for engagement rings too.

One of my favourite engagement rings in our ready to wear collection in Halls Green is a Tanzanian ruby and diamond ethical engagement ring. This ring holds a really striking 1.04ct ruby and side diamonds which have been recycled, originally coming from a pair of antique earrings. The stones have been set in palladium, which in itself is quite an environmentally friendly metal as it is mined as a byproduct of mining platinum. The band of the ring is 9ct rose gold which sets off the diamonds and stunning pinky red of the ruby perfectly.

Tanzanian ruby and diamond ethical engagement ring

Why not use this beautiful gemstone as a starting point for your own unique commission? Whether it be a Ruby engagement ring, eternity ring or a pair of ruby earrings., we would love to speak to you about your ideas so please get in touch and we can guide you through the process.

Jenna Lawson
 

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  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, North Barn, Fairclough Hall Farm, Halls Green, Weston, Hertfordshire, SG4 7DP, England
    Phone: +44 (0)1462 790565 Fax: +44 (0)1462 790140 enquiries@hkjewellery.co.uk
  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, 6/7 Green Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3JU, England.
    Phone: +44 (0)1223 461333 Fax: +44 (0)1223 365269 cambridge@hkjewellery.co.uk

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