L’origine des rubis
The ruby is a stone known for its distinctive colour. It is a symbolic stone with fantastic powers that has adorned the crowns and jewellery of the greatest people since the time of kings. Today, it remains the most expensive precious stone after diamonds.
Its characteristics
The ruby is the red stone of the corundum family. Apart from ruby, all stones in the corundum family are sapphires. So you're probably wondering why it's not called a red sapphire like all the other varieties of sapphire? It's simply because it's the only stone in the corundum family to contain chromium in its composition. Pink sapphire is an exception within the sapphire family, as it also contains a small amount of chromium. Depending on its chromium content, its hues can vary from red, pink and violet to orange.
Like emeralds, these stones have inclusions that can be seen with the naked eye, and this is what gives them their natural charm. An inclusion on a precious or semi-precious stone refers to any foreign matter or internal defect that is trapped in the stone during its formation. But what we love about it is that it has a hard body that allows it to be cut into any shape with extreme precision. Ruby scores 9 on the Mohs scale.
A rough ruby is generally pink and opaque. To give it the colour and transparency it is known for, it is heated to a temperature of 1,300°C, which also has the effect of removing some of the inclusions. Heating is considered a necessary embellishment technique for this stone, and is also used for sapphires. These stones, which emerge naturally from the earth with a red, transparent colour and no inclusions, are very rare, and their price is very high.
Because of their price, they are the most heavily treated gemstones. A treated ruby is a stone on which cavities have been filled in so that it does not have to be recut, thereby losing weight. But this technique makes the ruby lose a lot of value... At Théa Jewelry, you won't find treated rubies.
The virtues of rubies
Le rubis est bien plus qu’une simple pierre précieuse. Au-delà de sa beauté éblouissante, il est doté de vertus remarquables, notamment en matière de santé et de bien-être. Traditionnellement, le rubis est réputé pour ses propriétés curatives, notamment en ce qui concerne les problèmes cardiaques et circulatoires. En portant un bijou orné de rubis, on dit que l’énergie positive de cette pierre peut aider à réguler le rythme cardiaque et à améliorer la circulation sanguine.
Mais les bienfaits du rubis ne s’arrêtent pas là. Cette pierre précieuse est également associée à la protection contre les cauchemars et les angoisses. Elle est censée apporter une sensation de paix et de calme, favorisant ainsi un sommeil réparateur et une meilleure santé mentale.
Ainsi, porter un bijou orné de rubis va bien au-delà de l’esthétique. Que ce soit pour sa beauté éclatante ou pour ses vertus, le rubis demeure une pierre précieuse particulièrement prisée et appréciée depuis des siècles.
