The red of corundum at its rarest — one trace element, chromium, turning the very crystal that makes sapphire into the most coveted colour in jewellery.
Our rubies
The finest red of all
Ruby is corundum coloured by chromium. That same element makes fine ruby fluoresce in daylight, so the best stones seem to glow from within rather than simply reflect — a quality the trade still describes, unhelpfully but memorably, as pigeon’s blood.
Fine untreated ruby above a couple of carats is rarer than a comparable diamond, and provenance genuinely matters: Burmese, Mozambican and Thai material each carry a character of their own. We buy on the stone, not on the label.
Book a private viewingWhat to look for
Four questions worth asking
Ruby is the most valuable gem per carat in the world at the top of the market, and the most variable at the bottom. These four questions separate them.
Colour
A vivid, slightly purplish red with medium-dark tone and no brown or orange cast. Saturation, not darkness, is what you are paying for.
Fluorescence
Chromium makes fine ruby glow in daylight. Iron-rich material does not. Take any stone to a window before you decide.
Origin
Burmese, Mozambican and Thai rubies look different from one another. A laboratory report should support any origin attached to a price.
Treatment
Heat is routine and disclosed. Lead-glass filling turns poor material into something that looks fine, and is worth a fraction of the price.
Interactive guide
The Ruby Chart
The reds of ruby and where the boundary with pink sapphire lies, what silk means in a Type II gem, how pavilion angle keeps or kills the glow, how size grows with weight, the outlines that suit scarce rough, and how ruby compares with the other great gems.
From the collection
Rubies we are asked for
Every ruby we place comes with full disclosure of treatment, and an independent report for stones of significance. Each design below can be made around a stone chosen with you.
Wear & care
Keeping it at its best
Soapy water is enough
Ruby is hard and stable. Warm water, a drop of mild detergent and a soft brush behind the stone will bring the colour back.
Never ultrasonic a filled stone
Lead-glass filling is dissolved by heat and by some jewellers’ solutions. Tell whoever cleans your ring what it is.
Mind the corners
Cushion and emerald-cut rubies carry their weight at the corners. A protective setting is worth the extra metal.
By appointment
Judge a ruby by the window
Fine ruby looks entirely different in daylight and under a shop lamp. Book an appointment and we will show you stones in both, and explain what changes and why.
