Ruby gems are inherently expensive. It is no wonder people are a bit hesitant to purchase as they are forking out a lot of dough to get this beautiful stone! For this reason, we thought we would give you some information on Rubies and the treatments and what is real and not.
Real: Any ruby that has been mined and not produced in a factory is a typically considered a ruby. In Some instances substances use to treat or enhance rubies are used and they would still be 'real' rubies.
Treated Rubies: A ruby, quite often, is treated in some way to enhance it's beauty. The treatments which are utilized can either enhances the clarity of the gemstone or the color of the stone or often times both. The practice of treating rubies is a decades old tradition in the industry.
Th conventional heating process used to treat rubies is still used. Most experts say that around 95% of rubies are heated. When a ruby is heated, the hardness and durability of the gem remains intact but a more vivid color is achieved. This treatment is accepted by all gem experts. Typically those who sell jewelry do not even mention this as it is such an acceptable practice. If I were you, if it does not state "natural' or 'unheated' you can assume that a gem has been heated though that may not always be the case.
Fissure Filling or Fracture Filling (noted as FF on our site) is the process of filling in small fissures on the surface of a gemstone. Fissures are small, narrow gaps on the surface of the gem. This treatment improves the clarity of the stone by concealing these tiny cavities and must be disclosed by the seller.
Ruby is a colored version of corundum. This solid mineral appears colorless when in its pure form. If mixed with chromium, corundum develops its red hue which ranges in shade from pink to deep blood red. Corundum can be heated in an oven that may contain certain chemical powders which even out temperatures and prevent heat-related fissures. These powders then fuse at high temperatures and form molten that penetrates the gemstone's surface into the fractures, thus the term fissure fusion.
Any stone that occurs naturally and does not require treatment will naturally command a higher price than a treated gemstone. Treating stones provides the common person an opportunity for owning gems that many may otherwise not be able to afford.
The Ruby earrings below are real rubies but are fissure filled.
This Ruby ring is a Burmese Ruby that has not been fissure
filled
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