If you’re still young enough to remember your birthday, you
probably also remember the special birthstone assigned to it.
But at your age, we bet you don’t really know the SIGNIFICANCE
of your birthstone and what power the ancients felt would be
bestowed about you by wearing it. July’s Birthstone: Ruby
Birthstone Properties: Fire and emotion Alternative Birthstone:
Sapphire Ruby is the birthstone for July and also the
anniversary gemstone for the 15th and 40th years of marriage.
The history of ruby mining dates back more than 2,500 years ago,
and today the coveted gemstone is found in Burma, Thailand,
Kenya, Tanzania, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Cambodia, Kenya,
Tanzania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States. Called
the “Lord of Gems” by ancient Hindus, rubies are one of the most
highly prized gems throughout history. The fiery glow of rubies
is said to come from the gemstone’s internal and eternal flame.
For this reason, the gift of a ruby is a symbol of everlasting
love. If worn on the left hand, ancient lore has it that the
Ruby will bring good fortune. It is a perfect engagement ring
gemstone and a popular alternative to or addition to diamond
engagement bands. Hard, but Soft The word ruby comes from the
Latin “ruber,” meaning red. It is a variety of the mineral
Corundum that is called sapphire when it is any color except
red…only when it is red does it earn the designation of “ruby.”
But that’s not to say that there’s only one “red” for rubies.
Rubies range in hue from an orangey red to a purplish red,
although the most treasured rubies are still true red in color.
The ruby is a very durable gemstone, surpassed in hardness only
by diamonds. But despite its hard nature, it has a soft side.
According to legend, you should never make faces at a ruby in a
museum or ignore it because it will grow dull if slighted or not
worn or seen. Deliver Me From Evil Royalty chose rubies as a
powerful talisman that could help protect them against evil by
anticipating its arrival. Monarchs thought that rubies would
darken when peril was danger, and then return to its original
color once the threat was past. In an interesting way, rubies
had their own built-in anti-theft device: it was believed that
in order for rubies to act for good, it was believed that they
had to be in the hands of their rightful owner. A Ruby By Any
Other Name Gemstones that are not rubies are also called rubies.
The Balas Ruby is a type of spinel (a hard glassy mineral).
Bohemian Rubies are derived from rose quartz, and Siberian
“rubies” are really red or pink tourmaline. In the United
States, the American, Cape, Montana, and Rocky Mountain “rubies”
are really different varieties of garnet.