July’s Birthstone is Ruby.
That’s right, each month of the year has a betrothed gemstone designated to it…and guess what this month’s, July birthstone is…I sort of gave it away in the title…July’s birthstone is Ruby. For those of you that don’t know what a ruby looks like, it’s a pink to blood red in color gemstone famously partnered with other cardinal gems of its value like sapphires, diamonds, emeralds, and amethysts. It’s composed of aluminium oxide, which is a variety of the mineral also known as corundum. However, July’s birthstone Ruby, is not the only gemstone made of Corundum. Cousins to our friend the ruby are sapphires. Sapphires are generally blue and various hues of pink but can vary to a whole spectrum of colors. Green, orange, and yellow are also popular in the world of sapphires. But what are the differences between sapphire and rubies? Aside from their obvious differences in color? It’s the element called chromium. Due to the presents of this element in Corundum the specimen develops with a deeper saturation of reds and pinks. Therefore, the lack of this same element is what would take another specimen of Corundum and classify it as a sapphire rather than a ruby.
Phew…
Now that we’ve had our lesson in earth science we can move forward and find the many beauties of July’s Birthstone, the Ruby.
Rubies have been warn for centuries and can date back to antiquity. And what’s absolutely amazing about them is that they can also be worn today. Celebrities like Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez, Uma Thurman, Rihanna,
Rubies have this aura of passion associated to them due to their sensuous pink to red color. The name Ruby comes from the Latin word for Red which is Ruber.
Many couples calling themselves millennials are steering away from the traditional diamond engagement rings and opting for more eco-friendly options like ruby rings. Ruby engagement rings are stunning, beautiful, and give you a regal feeling. Not to mention that, in most cases, they are whole lot more affordable for the tighter budget.
This brings us to cost and value.
So, similar to grading diamonds, rubies are graded by color and clarity. However, those two quality grading scales are far more complex than just that.
Color is graded by how red the actual gem is. It starts off at a pink scale and works its way all the way over to red. But not just any red…Blood red. So that goes to say, the deeper the red the more valuable. My daughter is born in January and her birthstone is a Garnet which also has a presence of red, but is slightly browner to burgundy in color, and let’s not forget to mention that it’s not a corundum. The rarity of the Corundum is what drives price much higher than color stones of its resembling. So it’s always important to know the differences.
Clarity is broken down into two subcategories.
The first is imperfections and the second is transparency.
Imperfections basically refers to inclusions with in the diamonds. That can consist of alien elements not related to the Corundum family, or deformities related to the crystal formation of the Corundum.
Transparency is somewhat self-explanatory. The higher the effortlessness to see into the gem the more valuable the ruby is. The higher the difficulty to see into the ruby the less expensive it is.
Please keep in mind that most rubies the world over have a more opaque consistency to them. So, if you do come across a ruby that looks hazy, that’s totally normal. It’s not the best quality, but still valuable due to its mineral composite. Of course a clearer more transparent is ideal for the ruby gemstone shopper, but the prices of gems is that arena are usually left for the top 2%-3% of the world.
Rubies are not just used in non-traditional engagements rings. They are awesome Valentine’s Day gifts. Rubies can be gifted in a pair of earrings, a bracelet, a pendant, a broche, and even a cute little ring.
It’s also customary to gift each other Rubies on your 40th wedding anniversary. Heading of Sapphires for your 45th, Gold for your 50th, Emerald for your 55th, and Diamond for your 60th wedding anniversary.
Does anyone still follow this practice?
I definitely DON’T!!!!
Why wait 40 years to give the one you love the gift of Rubies? I make myself laugh when I think of this, bus what if the whole birthstone idea was implemented just so you didn’t have to wait 40 years to get your July birthstone…which is ruby.
Well, we’re in the thick of it now. July is right around the corner. Don’t wait to last minute to get your July baby the gift they were born to have.
So let me break it down for you. If you simply typed in July’s birthstone into Google’s search, you’d find out it was a Ruby. But if you want your ruby gift to have some thought in it, you’ll read this blog post. Let me know in the comments if you found it useful, or at least entertaining. And just in case you merely skimmed through…July’s birthstone is Ruby.
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