| An approximate ranking of important ruby | | | | "Beryl Island" Madagascar was long considered |
| origins is given below. This applies only for | | | | mineralogical nirvana. And today, it is |
| the finest untreated qualities from each | | | | equally known for its gem wealth. |
| source and is but a general approximation. In | | | | |
| other words, a top-quality Thai/Cambodian | | | | Prior to this year, Madagascar produced |
| ruby can be worth far more than a poor Mogok | | | | mainly fine blue sapphires and pinks. But now |
| stone. | | | | two important ruby deposits have been |
| | | | discovered. The first is about 10-30 km. |
| Mogok, Burma | | | | inland from the coastal town of Vatomandry, |
| | | | while the second is roughly 45-70 km. from |
| Sri Lanka | | | | the town of Andilamena. Vatomandry is said to |
| | | | produce the better-quality stone, being |
| Madagascar | | | | lighter and brighter (more reminiscent of |
| | | | Burma), while the Andilamena stone is |
| Nanyazeik, Burma | | | | somewhat darker and not as clean. Rutile silk |
| | | | seen in some pieces suggests that star stones |
| Everything else | | | | may be forthcoming. Much of the material from |
| | | | both deposits is heat-treated. |
| Mogok | | | | |
| | | | It is still too early to properly rank |
| When we talk ruby, we talk Burma. For | | | | Madagascar in the ruby world, but the stones |
| connoisseurs, no other will do. In the days | | | | I have seen so far suggest that there is |
| of yore, matters were simple. Burma meant | | | | great promise. |
| Mogok. This storied deposit was known for | | | | |
| over 1000 years as the home of the finest | | | | Vietnam |
| ruby on the planet. | | | | |
| | | | Beginning in the late-1980's, fine ruby began |
| While Mogok is the traditional source of the | | | | pouring out of two different deposits in |
| world's finest rubies, good stones are rare | | | | Vietnam. Although Vietnam's ruby originates |
| even from this fabled area. Pigeon's blood | | | | from two different mining areas, Luc Yen |
| was the term used to describe the finest | | | | (north of Hanoi) and Quy Chau (south of |
| Mogok stones, but has little meaning today, | | | | Hanoi), both sources display similar |
| as so few people have seen this bird's blood. | | | | characteristics. |
| | | | |
| Mogok-type rubies possess not just red body | | | | There's nothing like time to put things in |
| color, but, by a freak of nature, red | | | | perspective. In the late 1980's, Vietnamese |
| fluorescence, too. In addition, the best | | | | ruby literally exploded on the world gem |
| stones contain tiny amounts of | | | | market. The best Vietnamese ruby approaches |
| light-scattering rutile silk. It is this | | | | fine Mogok, but since the early 1990's most |
| combination of features that gives these | | | | have tended towards pink. Today, little |
| rubies their incomparable crimson glow. In | | | | facet-quality is produced, and even the |
| Mogok rubies, the color often occurs in rich | | | | cabochon material rarely competes with that |
| patches and swirls, and color zoning can | | | | available from MA?A×®g Hsu. Some pinkish |
| occasionally be a problem. The shape of Mogok | | | | star material is also produced. |
| ruby rough generally yields well-proportioned | | | | |
| stones. | | | | Kenya & Tanzania |
| | | | |
| In addition to faceted stones, the Mogok | | | | Stones from these sources are magnificent |
| Stone Tract also produces the world's finest | | | | when clean, but facet-grade material is rare. |
| star rubies. | | | | Like Burma, much of this material is strongly |
| | | | fluorescent. Star stones are not produced |
| Mang Hsu | | | | from these deposits. |
| | | | |
| When the Mang Hsu deposit came on stream in | | | | One specific deposit is worth mentioning. |
| 1992-93, it took the ruby world by the storm. | | | | Beginning in the mid-1990's, mines near |
| Suddenly, we were awash in a sea of red the | | | | Songea began to produce material with a dark, |
| likes of which had never been seen before. | | | | garnety color veering towards orange. While |
| And fine stone it was, too. This was not the | | | | this material is ruby of a sort, it is |
| garnet-like hue of Thailand, but a rich, | | | | marginal due to its high Fe content. |
| fluorescent red. | | | | |
| | | | Afghanistan |
| In 1992, the Mang Hsu (Maing Hsu) deposit in | | | | |
| Burma's Shan State began producing good | | | | Jagdalek has produced rubies that rank with |
| material. This has continued to the present, | | | | fine Mogok stones, but facetable material is |
| so much so that close to 90% of the fine cab | | | | in short supply. Similar to Vietnamese |
| and facet-grade ruby in the world market is | | | | rubies, many of these stones contain small |
| from this deposit. But most cut stones are | | | | areas of blue color. They are also strongly |
| under two carats. | | | | fluorescent, and if the deposit ever produces |
| | | | clean material, watch out. No star stones |
| Mang Hsu material can be extremely fine, but | | | | here. |
| virtually all is heat treated, and most is | | | | |
| also flux-healed. | | | | Thailand/Cambodia |
| | | | |
| Nanyazeik (Nayazeik) | | | | This material's main attribute is its high |
| | | | clarity, but the flat crystal shapes |
| In the past year or so, rubies have started | | | | generally yield overly shallow stones. Due to |
| to come out of Nanyazeik in Burma's Kachin | | | | the high iron content, which quenches |
| State. I did see one fine purplish red piece | | | | fluorescence, most stones tend to have a |
| from this deposit on my last trip to Burma in | | | | garnet-red color. An additional problem is |
| June, 2001. Only time will tell whether | | | | the total lack of light-scattering silk |
| Nanyazeik has the makings of an important | | | | inclusions (star stones are not found). |
| source. Other than ruby, Nanyazeik has | | | | Although heat treatment does make |
| produced some super red spinels, equal to | | | | improvements, it is not enough. In Thai |
| anything from Mogok. | | | | Cambodian rubies, only those facets where |
| | | | light is totally internally reflected will be |
| Sri Lanka (Ceylon) | | | | a rich red; the others appear blackish, as |
| | | | with red garnets. Thai stones are actually |
| The classic case of giving a dog a bad name. | | | | less purple than most Burmese rubies. |
| Some of the world's finest rubies have come | | | | However, Burma-type rubies appear red all |
| from Sri Lanka's gem gravels, but because of | | | | over the stone. Not only is a rich red seen |
| the erroneous "pink sapphire" moniker, they | | | | in the areas where total internal reflection |
| have been largely overlooked. Top-grade Sri | | | | occurs, but due to the red fluorescence and |
| Lankan reds are virtually indistinguishable | | | | light-scattering silk, other facets are also |
| from their Mogok brethren, but most tend | | | | red. |
| towards purple or pink. As with Sri Lanka | | | | |
| sapphires, color accumulates in large stones | | | | With the decline in Burma production during |
| and so they can be quite magnificent in sizes | | | | the 1962-1990 period, the market became |
| of five carats or more. Due to the | | | | conditioned to Thai/Cambodian rubies, with |
| bipyramidal shape of the rough, many stones | | | | some people actually tending to prefer them |
| are cut with overly deep pavilions. Sri | | | | (in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man |
| Lankan ruby is strongly fluorescent and stars | | | | is king). Thai/Cambodian rubies are |
| are common. | | | | acceptable only when good material from the |
| | | | Burma-type sources is not available. Today, |
| Madagascar | | | | production from the Thai side of the border |
| | | | is zero, and that from Cambodia is |
| When I was teaching gemology in Bangkok, I | | | | negligible. One occasionally hears statements |
| used to point to an island off the coast of | | | | about how Cambodian stones are superior to |
| Africa and inform my students that, if they | | | | those from across the border in Thailand. |
| wanted to hunt gems, this would be a great | | | | This is untrue. The deposits are essentially |
| place to start. Known in olden times as the | | | | one, directly straddling the border. |