When you think of rubies, what comes to mind besides the color red?
For many people, they might imagine a deep solid red gemstone.
However, did you know that some rubies are clear?
In fact, this is becoming an increasingly popular trend in the ruby market.
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, people expected for a ruby to be “clear” or translucent. This means that they expected for a ruby to resemble the appearance of cherry jello rather than a firetruck.
The difference between the two is the ability for light to travel through an object or for light to simply be reflected and bounce from off the surface but not to be seen through it.
So, what does it mean if a ruby is clear? Should you be buying them for your collection?
Here are three things you should know about clear rubies!
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How Clear Should a Ruby Be?
If we are going to speak of Trade Standards, then a ruby should be clear to the degree that they can be found as translucent in nature.
Further, rubies are graded according to the same principles of standards that diamonds are graded.
There is a grading which includes a thing called “clarity” which means that the inclusions that are naturally found inside a stone either will be seen and will block light, or the inclusions are barely seen and will cause the light little to no obstruction.
Rubies undergo an extra grading that diamonds do not and it is because they are a colored stone.
That extra grading is called “Translucent” and this will give an idea of how much you should expect for the stone to allow you to see right through it or not.
Difference Between Translucent & Opaque Rubies
There is a huge difference between a translucent and opaque ruby.
What you may be used to seeing in the modern marketplace are red opaque rubies rather than red translucent ones.
Even if you do find translucent rubies, they may have undergone “treatments” that will make them more translucent, but this will at the same time, take away from their value.
Here is a better understanding of three different categories that are assigned to gemstones:
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Transparent | All of the light will transmit through it. Light rays that are not blocked by the different facet cuts of a stone will be seen as a clear image on the other side of it. You should be able to read a newspaper through something that is called “transparent”. Windows are transparent because there are no other cuts or sections to cause the light to scatter and go around it rather than completely through it. |
| Translucent | This allows for partial transmission of light rays. The rays become scattered in the interior of objects (gemstones) due to the facets that are cut at many different angles. If an object is seen through a translucent gem, the image appears fuzzy or blurred. The light transmission can also be scattered or partially blocked due to inclusions found in nature in gemstones. This will have an effect on the translucency of the gem. Some examples of translucent objects are frosted glass found in bathrooms, plastic bottles such as milk jugs, and beautiful rubies. |
| Opaque | This means that light is not allowed to transmit through an object. Any light that “tries” to get through is blocked or absorbed or scattered. The light rays may get reflected at the surface, but they are then absorbed before they can reach the other side. Examples are abundant everywhere. Wood, brick, metal, and many gemstones are opaque. |
What It Means If Your Ruby Is Clear
If you have or find a ruby that is “clear” then you may be in for a surprise.
There are indeed real bonafide rubies found through earth mining that are sort of clear, that is, they are very translucent.
But they are not transparent the same way that glass is.
A ruby that is very translucent and that has been earth mined and has had no treatments to enhance the translucency is rare. Here is what you can expect if your ruby is clear:
The Ruby Is Synthetic/Fake
If you find a ruby that is totally clear, it may be fake.
Fake does not mean lab grown, fake means that it is made from plastic, glass or some other material that is not a ruby in chemical composition at all.
A fake ruby will likely be so transparent that in spite of its red color, you can read a newspaper through it.
Clearly.
If you were to take it to a jewelry store, they would immediately know that it was fake, but to convince you, they would whip out their spectrometer and test it right in front of you so you would be as convinced as they are.
The Ruby Is Real, But Treated
Neither of these things is “bad” per se, but you should be informed of both case scenarios before you buy a ruby that is very translucent.
A ruby that is lab grown is a beautiful thing and will still have some inclusions that are part of the growth process.
A lab grown ruby is still a real ruby, it just has been grown from a ruby seed that has been “hurried” through the process that earth mined ones have taken thousands of years to undergo.
A lab grown ruby is exactly the same chemical and composition of an earth mined one, except that it is a seed from a ruby that has been mixed with gasses and put into a grow chamber much like growing tomatoes in a hot house out of season.
A ruby that has been treated is also real, but high heat has been applied to deepen the color and glass could also have been injected to remove inclusions that block too much light and make it look bad.
Depending on which exact treatment these rubies have had, the price should reflect it compared to rubies that have had no treatments at all.
Ninety-five percent of all rubies have had treatment since the 1960’s, so most on the market will have some translucency.
The Ruby is Extremely Rare
If you find a ruby that has not been treated in any way, and if it has good translucency, it is a rare thing.
These are usually found in high end jewelry stores, in estate jewelry made well before the 1960’s and they are very expensive.
These are the kinds of rubies that require Certification from GIA so that their true composition and value can be authenticated and applied.
The difference in cost for a ruby that has not been treated and has good translucency is $9,000 per carat vs $500 per carat just as an example.
Keep in mind that many jewelry stores will try to charge uniformed customers the same price for either so that they do not have to justify the high cost for treated stones, because untreated ones are often too difficult to get.
The Different Colors of Rubies
The first thing to know about rubies is what they are made from.
Rubies and sapphires of all colors are made of corundum.
Marketing and media have helped to divide the value of the different colors so that the more common colors can be sold in different markets, but they are all the same except for color.
Here are some of the colors that you will find for the different reds of rubies:
Pigeon Blood Red
When people usually think of a ruby, this is the color that has been marketed as being most valuable.
It is usually found in Burmese rubies and the red color is deep but without purple or orange hues.
Even so, there are different colors of Pigeon Blood Red, but it seems that as long as the rubies were mined in Burmese, they can get a pass for not quite being as vivid a red color as some of their counterparts.
Keep in mind that it is not GIA who is assigning the value to a ruby from any source or color, they merely authenticate and describe its characteristics.
The value comes from the marketplace.
Purple Red or Orange Red
These two colors are mined from different parts of the world, and as such, their chemical compositions are going to reflect the differences in colors compared to those mined in Burmese.
Some people love the purple hue that is intermingled with the deep red, while others love the orange hue that is intermingled with the deep red.
Either way, unless you can see all colors together, they might all be acceptable to you.
Watermelon and Pink
These two colors wanted to be red, but did not make it because of the neighborhood that they grew up in.
That’s okay, because rubies that are pink are simply sold as pink sapphires and are just as expensive as those that are red.
The reason they are sold as pink sapphires is because there is a difference in pink sapphires element composition as opposed to the deeper reds.
All of them are made of corundum, but the colors come out different due to the amount of chromium and other trace elements in it.
The less chromium, the more the stone will look pink, and the more chromium, the more red the ruby will be.
Watermelon color simply had more of a mix of trace elements that influenced the color.
Final Thoughts
Take a good look at the natural colors that rubies come in. Choose according to what you like rather than what is marketed. If you cannot afford an untreated ruby, consider a lab grown one!