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July Birthstone - Ruby
Buying and Caring tips
Tips for Buying Ruby Jewelry
For a one-carat stone of average-to-good quality you can expect to pay between
$250 and $10,000 per carat. Of course, truly fine gems will cost more.
There are
not many stones that can be confused with this july birthstone (spinel has a much lower RI and
tourmaline is strongly doubly refractive). In earlier times all of the synthetic
rubies were made by the flame fusion process where powdered aluminum was passed
through a very hot gas flame. The Aluminum melted and combined with Oxygen to
produce synthetic corundum. These stones all had curved growth lines, gas bubbles
and flecks of aluminum powder in them. They were easy to spot. There are some
synthetic (now called created) rubies that are grown in bombs or crucibles of
various kinds that are much more difficult to detect. Diffusion treatment may
impart a red to colorless or pale corundum. KashanTM rubies are a flame grown
form. DourosTM synthetic rubies are produced in Greece.
Tips to take care of Ruby Jewelry
Clean with soapy water or commercial solvent and brush. Mechanical cleaners are
safe, except for heavily included gems.
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