Facts About Star Ruby
Star ruby, together with star sapphires are two of the fascinating gemstones that are sought by many connoisseurs. They are found filled with rutile (also called as ‘silk’) and cut into cabochon to display best of their asterism effect. The essential element that is required to produce a star ruby or sapphire is rutile. The star effect you see from the stone is due to this inclusions. The more densely packed the rutile, the better the star. A star must be properly cut in order to create a six rayed star.
Star ruby is slightly more brownish and purple in appearance than transparent ruby, some of them are also pinkish. In 1947, United States developed star rubies and star sapphires by adding 1% rutile (TiO2, titanium oxide) to the powder, forming the boules in ussual manner and then heat treating. A top quality red star ruby can costs $50,000 per carat. US buyers will normally have to compete with Europeans and Japanese who will also willingly to pay high price for these gems. Every serious collector usually own one of these gemstones.The 138 carat Rosser Reeves at the Smithsonian is the most popular star ruby. The Delong Star Ruby is another popular one weighing 100.32 carats that resides in the Natural History Museum in New York City.
Star rubies are found in Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Thailand, India, Tanzania, Australia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Cambodia, Malawi, Malagasy Republic, Pakistan, United States (North Carolina, Montana) and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). Star ruby from Sri Lanka tends to be purplish brown. Naturally, the Burma material is the most coveted. Ruby symbolizes power and pride, while sapphire symbolizes peace and calmness.
See other complete list of birthstones.
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Star ruby is slightly more brownish and purple in appearance than transparent ruby, some of them are also pinkish. In 1947, United States developed star rubies and star sapphires by adding 1% rutile (TiO2, titanium oxide) to the powder, forming the boules in ussual manner and then heat treating. A top quality red star ruby can costs $50,000 per carat. US buyers will normally have to compete with Europeans and Japanese who will also willingly to pay high price for these gems. Every serious collector usually own one of these gemstones.The 138 carat Rosser Reeves at the Smithsonian is the most popular star ruby. The Delong Star Ruby is another popular one weighing 100.32 carats that resides in the Natural History Museum in New York City.
Star rubies are found in Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Thailand, India, Tanzania, Australia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Cambodia, Malawi, Malagasy Republic, Pakistan, United States (North Carolina, Montana) and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). Star ruby from Sri Lanka tends to be purplish brown. Naturally, the Burma material is the most coveted. Ruby symbolizes power and pride, while sapphire symbolizes peace and calmness.
See other complete list of birthstones.
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