Signs of a Good Ruby Stone

Coloration

• Colors of ruby range from orange reds to purple/blue reds. Saturation, or the intensity of the color, affects the ruby as does the evenness of the color distribution. Medium reds are considered good, as are darker reds provided that the stone's brilliance is not affected. The best color a ruby could possess is a slightly purple/blue red color, called pigeon's blood red.

Clarity and Inclusions

• Rubies tend to have inclusions. These inclusions aren't necessarily bad, as they help gemologists to see whether or not a ruby is natural. Rutile is a common inclusion for ruby, and gemologists call it silk.

  The best stones have no inclusions that can be seen without magnification. If the silk is thin and there isn't so much of it that it makes the stone look grey tinted, a ruby's value may increase.

Cut

• Cut is not quite as important, but is still a factor, when looking for a good ruby. A well cut ruby, as with any stone, works to show off the stone's brilliance while preserving as much of the stone as possible, as well as working with the stone's characteristics. Rubies are generally available in a range of cuts.

  A faceted good ruby has symmetrical facets and has been polished to remove surface imperfections such as small pits.

  Cabochon cuts for rubies are used for star rubies or lower quality rubies. Good rubies cut as cabochons, a domed cut without facets, have a symmetrical dome and a smooth finish.

  Rubies with rutile inclusions that formed in a certain way may be rounded instead of faceted to form a star ruby.

Carat Weight

• The weight of a ruby can affect its value. If a ruby meets other requirements for being a good stone, such as color and clarity, then if it is larger than three carats it is rarer and therefore more valuable ruby.

Treatments

• A good ruby will not have had certain treatments done to it. These treatments include such processes as dyeing, inserting wax and laminating.

Reputable Dealer

• A reputable dealer discloses any treatments, such as heat treating, that have been applied to a ruby. A reputable dealer also will disclose where a stone comes from if such information is available. No set standard exists for ruby pricing. Knowing current market trends, the established standards of ruby evaluation, as well as where the various varieties of rubies come from helps determine whether or not a dealer is worth buying from.