{"id":7501,"date":"2013-06-29T06:27:50","date_gmt":"2013-06-29T06:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/?p=7501"},"modified":"2022-02-02T07:04:21","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T07:04:21","slug":"introducing-naktamunda-rhodolite-garnet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/natural-fine-planetary-talismans\/introducing-naktamunda-rhodolite-garnet\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Naktamunda Rhodolite Garnet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introducing Naktamunda Rhodolite Garnet <\/strong><\/p>\n

by<\/em><\/p>\n

Edward Meeks<\/em><\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/a>The gem of love, Ruby is the red member of the Corundum family and is often given as a gift to show the strength of one’s relationship. Its rich, vivid red colors are due to the presence\u00a0 of chromium and its almost identical twin sister, the Sapphire, is similar in all but colour.<\/p>\n

\"copyscapegemstoneuniverse1\"<\/a>
\nUntil\u00a0 the\u00a0 early\u00a0 1800’s\u00a0 many\u00a0 other\u00a0 gemstones,\u00a0 including\u00a0 Spinel\u00a0 and Garnets, were often misidentified as Ruby. Most Rubies show purplish red to orangey red hues; however, the overall colour (colour being\u00a0 a\u00a0 combination\u00a0 of hue,\u00a0 shade\u00a0 and\u00a0 saturation) can provide gem dealers with an indication of\u00a0 the stone’s original geographic origin. Burmese Rubies tending to be purplish red in colour, while Thai stones tend to be brownish red.<\/p>\n

Ruby shows pleochroism,\u00a0 which\u00a0 means\u00a0 that\u00a0 the colour\u00a0 varies\u00a0 when\u00a0 viewing\u00a0 the\u00a0 gemstone\u00a0 in\u00a0 different directions\u00a0 and\u00a0 many\u00a0 can\u00a0 appear\u00a0 incredibly bright when exposed to the sun (see\u00a0 fluorescence). Inclusions in\u00a0 Rubies\u00a0 are\u00a0 called\u00a0 “silk”, and if sufficiently abundant and precisely\u00a0 arranged\u00a0 this\u00a0 can\u00a0 lead\u00a0 to\u00a0 wonderful\u00a0 asterism;\u00a0 with the correct cutting, Star Rubies can often\u00a0 be created.\"1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ruby has been a popular gemstone for centuries\u00a0 and has been set in many famous historic pieces of jewellery. Ruby mining can be traced back over\u00a0 2500 years ago in Sri Lanka. The famous mines\u00a0 in Mogok, Burma were first explored as early as\u00a0 the 6th century AD. Historically, the gem has had many different names around the globe, which highlights how popular it has been with many\u00a0 different civilizations. In Sanskrit, the Ruby was\u00a0 known as ratnaraj\u009d which stood for the king of\u00a0 precious gems\u009d, and later ratnanayaka; leader\u00a0 of all precious stones\u009d. The gem was referred to in the Bible as a Carbuncle, although today\u00a0 research has shown that this name was also used\u00a0 for several other red gemstones. Its more recent\u00a0 name,\u00a0 Ruby,\u00a0 is\u00a0 derived\u00a0 from\u00a0 the\u00a0 Latin\u00a0 word\u00a0 rubers\u009d simply meaning red.<\/p>\n

As can be imagined, the gem is surrounded by a\u00a0 great deal of folklore and legends. In the ancient world people believed that Rubies could\u00a0 help\u00a0 them predict the future and they have been worn\u00a0 as talismans to protect from illness or misfortune\u00a0 ever since. It has also been said that the wearer of\u00a0 a\u00a0 Ruby\u00a0 would\u00a0 enjoy\u00a0 romance,\u00a0 friendship, energy, courage and peace.<\/p>\n

Pliny the Elder, influenced by the writings of the\u00a0 ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus (371\u00a0 287BC), wrote In each variety of Ruby there are\u00a0 so called male and female stones, of which\u00a0 the former are the more brilliant, while the latter\u00a0 have a weaker lustre. Considering Pliny’s work took place almost 2000 years ago, this remains\u00a0 one of the few theories relating to gemstones that\u00a0 he misinterpreted!<\/p>\n

In Burma and Thailand one legend tells of the ancient Burmese dragon who laid three magical\u00a0 eggs. From the first egg came forth Pyusawti,\u00a0 king\u00a0 of\u00a0 Burma,\u00a0 from\u00a0 the\u00a0 second\u00a0 emerged\u00a0 the\u00a0 Chinese Emperor and the third egg provided all\u00a0 of the vivid Rubies in Burma, many of which\u00a0 local\u00a0 gem\u00a0 traders\u00a0 will\u00a0 tell\u00a0 you\u00a0 are yet\u00a0 to\u00a0 be\u00a0 discovered.<\/p>\n

Shortly after Marco Polo documented his travels (in which he recited how Ruby was used by people of the Kahn to protect themselves in battle), Sir John Mandeville wrote a book of his own global experiences (compiled circa 1365). Mandeville believed that once a man had touched the four corners of his land with his Ruby, then his house,\u00a0 vineyard and orchard would be protected from\u00a0 lightning, tempests and poor harvest\u009d.<\/p>\n

For many centuries, Ruby has been thought to\u00a0 remove sadness, prevent nightmares and protect\u00a0 against many illnesses. With its likeness in colour\u00a0 to\u00a0 blood,\u00a0 it\u00a0 has\u00a0 often\u00a0 been said\u00a0 to\u00a0 help\u00a0 stem\u00a0 haemorrhages and cure inflammatory diseases.<\/p>\n

It is said that over 95% of Rubies on the market today have been heat-treated, therefore whenever\u00a0 buying a Ruby it is best to assume that the gem’s\u00a0 colour has been enhanced. Large, natural Rubies of good colour and clarity are so valuable that\u00a0 they often demand a higher price per carat than\u00a0 even the most flawless Diamonds. For example,\u00a0 in\u00a0 1988\u00a0 Sotheby\u00a0 auctioned\u00a0 a\u00a0 15.97ct\u00a0 Ruby\u00a0 which\u00a0 sold\u00a0 for\u00a0 more\u00a0 than\u00a0 3.6\u00a0 million\u00a0 dollars\u00a0 under the hammer!<\/p>\n

Some of the finest Rubies are from Burma, where their colour is said to be comparable to that of\u00a0 pigeon blood\u009d. Other sources include Thailand, Vietnam, Sri\u00a0 Lanka,\u00a0 Kenya,\u00a0 Madagascar,\u00a0 Tanzania, Cambodia, Afghanistan, and India.<\/p>\n

Ruby is the birthstone for July and is also the\u00a0 anniversary gemstone for both the 15th and 40th\u00a0 year of marriage. As it has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, it is a tough and durable gemstone,\u00a0 and when set in precious metal should continue\u00a0 to shine for thousands of years to come. Besides\u00a0 being\u00a0 used\u00a0 in\u00a0 jewellery,\u00a0 Rubies are\u00a0 also\u00a0 used extensively in laser technology.<\/p>\n

\"edward<\/a><\/p>\n

Edward Meeks is the Online Marketing Executive at The Genuine Gemstones Company<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe Genuine Gemstone Company is winner of the Sunday Times Fast Track 100. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introducing Naktamunda Rhodolite Garnet by Edward Meeks The gem of love, Ruby is the red member of the Corundum family and is often given as a gift to show the strength of one’s relationship. Its rich, vivid red colors are due to the presence\u00a0 of chromium and its almost identical twin sister, the Sapphire, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5780,4],"tags":[5796,2346,5790,5793,5782,5797,2467,5787,5781,5792,5785,445,1046,5791,214,5795,5789,5794,5784,5788,5783,5786],"class_list":{"0":"post-7501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-guest-contributions","8":"category-natural-fine-planetary-talismans","9":"tag-anniversary-gemstone","10":"tag-burmese-rubies","11":"tag-carbuncle","12":"tag-chinese-emperor","13":"tag-corundum-family","14":"tag-durable-gemstone","15":"tag-flawless-diamonds","16":"tag-fluorescence","17":"tag-gem-of-love","18":"tag-king-of-burma","19":"tag-misidentified-as-ruby","20":"tag-pleochroism","21":"tag-pliny-the-elder","22":"tag-pyusawti","23":"tag-ruby","24":"tag-ruby-is-the-birthstone-for-july","25":"tag-ruby-mining","26":"tag-sir-john-mandeville","27":"tag-spinel-and-garnets","28":"tag-star-rubies","29":"tag-sunday-times-fast-track-100","30":"tag-thai-stones","31":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7501"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16602,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7501\/revisions\/16602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemstoneuniverse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}