Birthstone Spotlight: Ruby

As we roll into July, we’re already hitting temperatures over 100 degrees, which makes July’s birthstone with its lustrous red the perfect choice! The ruby’s bright red color, caused by the presence of chromium, is its most valued feature and the more intense the color, the more the ruby is worth. Rubies can range from a soft pink to a blood red, although depending on the shade of pink the ruby can be classified as a pink sapphire. Today Burma is the world’s largest provider of high-quality rubies.

Like emeralds and sapphires, the ruby has enjoyed the position of being one of the top “power” stones in history. In India, rubies were divided by intensity of color and assigned to certain social classes and it was believed that rubies of lesser quality could not come into contact with higher quality rubies for fear of contamination. The Chinese also used the color of the ruby to indicate rank.

The ruby has also been associated with good health and fortune, protecting the wearer from any harm or ill-intent. That’s why popular Italian jewelry designer Roberto Coin places a small round-cut ruby into every one of his jewelry designs.

The world’s largest un-cut ruby is the 125West Ruby, weighing 8.2 pounds and coming in at a whopping 18,696 carats. The largest cut ruby is the Edwardes Ruby, weighing 167 carats and it currently resides in the Museum of Natural History in London. The ruby has also been frequently incorporated into royal jewels, such as the Crown of Saint Wenceslas with a cabochon 250 carat ruby.

These ruby flower stud earrings are just the piece for this hot weather right now. They’re set in 18 karat white gold with beautiful pear-cut ruby accents.

Established in 1912, the King family has owned and operated King Jewelers for five generations while building an outstanding reputation steeped in quality, value, and first-class service. Today, King Jewelers has brick-and-mortar stores located in Aventura, FL and Nashville, TN, both of which have won numerous regional and national awards of distinction. Offering a magnificent selection of fine jewelry collections including the hottest Italian designs, estate jewelry, colored gemstones and fancy-colored diamonds, as well as luxury European timepieces, King Jewelers prides itself in being one step ahead of the trend. In addition, King Jewelers offers on-site jewelry and watch repairs, custom design services, appraisals, estate buying, and corporate gift programs. For more information, visit www.kings1912.com.