Investment grade natural ruby gemstones. The gem trade has seen a rise in synthetic rubies with flux-induced healed fractures being offered as natural rubies. The synthetic stones, which reportedly come from Bangkok, have been circulating in the New York trade for the past few months.

The GIA Gem Laboratory has examined more than 20 synthetic rubies of this nature, which were melt-grown using the Verneuil technique. These stones have been quench-crackled, then heated with fluxing agents, to induce healing along the fractures. This mimics the healed fractures commonly seen in natural rubies that have been heat-treated.

The rubies can be identified by careful examination with a loupe or microscope. All of the samples I have seen showed a typical pattern of networked healed fractures and fine curved striae, and in many cases, tiny gas bubbles. In short, it looked fake and it was fake.

RUBY

Burmese, call it "King of Gems", country people call it the "desire fulfilling stone" because it makes dreams come true. Ruby is the color of passion and love. The birthstone for July born babies, whenever mentioned, the magic word of Burma Red comes to the mind.

THE 4 C’s: COLOR, COLOR, COLOR AND COLOR.

Unlike most of Gems, color is almost the most important determining factor when evaluating a ruby. Unlike the Sapphire that comes in every possible color except red, ruby is only and always some species of red. The trade accepts a touch of purplish red overtone since it is a part of the pigeon blood red color. Pink corundum is pink sapphire. Pink rubies do not exist. They are misnomers. A slight pinkish overtone in a Burma ruby is acceptable if it does not exceed 10 or 20% of the color evaluations. Since rubies are classified as almost always included, a flawless eye-clear 2ct ruby is almost impossible to find, most evaluations go first for color, then for size and cut. Buyers, who insist in buying a large flawless eye-clear ruby, usually sacrifice the color, or the money, or the authenticity.

AFRICAN RUBIES

African rubies from the famous Sonkia Mine in Tanzania usually come flawless to eye clean with great deal of transparency and brilliance, but they are orange red with a brownish red overtone. They can also be a brilliant raspberry color with high purple overtones. Because they are red corundum, they are Rubies, even though some jewelers mistake them for high grade garnet and sometimes misname them as red sapphires, another misnomer for ruby. A corundum is a corundum, and names are only color specific.

RUBY TREATMENT

It is possible to find an unheated sapphire in various color, understanding that you will be paying a high premium for its natural condition, but locating an unheated or untreated ruby in the gem trade these days is almost impossible. All gem labs, even GIA assumes that all natural rubies are heated to enhance color and appearance. Another treatment that is widely used and accepted for ruby, especially the larger gem grade sizes, is the filling with colorless substances such as "borax." These fillers are used to improve the clarity of the internal fractures to avoid the development of these inclusions to breakage or external fractures that may affect the gem. Because all rubies, especially the ones that come from Burma or Thailand, are heated after they are mined, if you are buying one, assume that it is heated or filled. Ask for a certification of unfilled condition if you’re told the opposite. Such treatment should be disclosed to consumer. Simply heated rubies are much more valuable than filled and heated rubies. Heating does nothing to change the stone, while filling can be abused, and result in excessive carat weights than can be deceiving.

SYNTHETIC AND LAB GROWN RUBIES

No matter how your ruby is treated, it remains identified as a natural gem. Treatment simply finishes what nature has started. Synthetic and lab grown man made Rubies are not natural gems even though they are expensive and beautiful. Rubies can be a range of colors, but always red, and a range of clarity, but always beautiful, when an investment grade stone.

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has reported that synthetic ruby — which has been altered to look like natural, heat-treated ruby — has recently been appearing on the gem market.

The GIA Gem Laboratory has seen an increase in the number of synthetic rubies with flux-induced healed fractures that are being offered as heat-treated, natural rubies. The synthetic stones, which are reportedly coming from Bangkok, have been circulating in the New York trade for the past few weeks.

The GIA Gem Laboratory has examined more than 20 synthetic rubies of this nature, which were melt-grown using the Verneuil technique. These stones have been quench-crackled, then heated with fluxing agents, to induce healing along the fractures. This mimics the healed fractures commonly seen in natural rubies that have been heat-treated.

The rubies can be identified by careful examination with a loupe or microscope. All of the samples I have seen showed a typical pattern of networked healed fractures and fine curved striae, and in many cases, tiny gas bubbles. In short, it looked fake and it was fake.

INVESTMENT GRADE

If rare Gems are considered portable wealth, rare rubies are one of those ultimate treasures.

Investment grade rubies are generally in the approximately 2ct size range. Other ruby investments will have to heavily weigh total carat weight (in the case of multiple gemstones) and artistic presentation.

Since color is everything in a ruby, try to get the best Burma red color your money can buy, stay away of pink colors or ones with strong purple overtones for investment purposes. These pinkish and purplish stones can be beautiful in jewelry, but they generally lack the value necessary on the market for investment. This may also change in the future, and I will update this guide from time to time with more on the valuation of off color rubies.

If you can afford eye clean or near flawless Rubies, go for it, it will more likely hold and increase in value. Eye clean Rubies do not mean that no inclusions can be seen under magnification, it means that you can’t notice any distracting inclusion with your naked eye. Translucent or slightly opaque Rubies may appear eye clean, because inclusions are hidden by the fact that the stone is opaque or translucent to semi-opaque.

Transparent rubies are extremely rare, given the fact that it is a gem grade in its color. Since transparent rubies are hardly located, expect to pay much more than a comparable opaque ruby. Opaque rubies are still a good investment, especially for the middle range investor.

Poor cut rubies can’t be of an investment grade. Ask how your ruby was cut and look for proportionate cut. The more beautiful your ruby is, the rarer and the more valuable it is.

Rubies are extremely durable, harder than all other gems except diamonds, 9 at Mohs hardness scale. They are beautiful gifts to express feelings of love and passion. Owning a magnificent ruby is a lifetime experience.

LEGAL GERRYMANDERING – BURMA ON BURMA

Unlike most Gems, namely the exception of Colombian emeralds, rubies are sold as being from Burma or not from Burma. The best grade of Burma ruby is sold as "Burma Red" or "Pigeon Blood Color." It is the most beautiful magical red with a distinctive glow, especially in sun, daylight, sometime with a bubbly pinkish tone and purplish deep red under incandescent light. When two rubies of comparable quality are offered for sale, the one from Burma often costs twice as much or even more. No other rubies have the vibrancy of the Burmese ruby. A ruling issued by U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has created a loophole that will allow virtually all gemstones from Myanmar (formerly Burma) to enter the United States legally.

Imports of all goods from Myanmar were banned under the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, which took effect August 30, 2003. Since then, various companies have argued that cutting and polishing rough gemstones from Myanmar in another country constitutes "substantial transformation," and therefore makes the gem a product of the country in which it was cut.

The concept of "substantial transformation" comes from customs regulations on country of origin: "Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the ‘country of origin’ within the meaning of this part."

In September 2004, Tiffany & Co. applied for a ruling on whether that concept applied to rubies from Myanmar. The CBP ruling, issued in December 2004, cited a number of previous cases where cutting a diamond was deemed a substantial transformation: " . . . Cutting a gem quality rough diamond by cleaving or sawing and putting 52 facets on each diamond transforms an article with numerous potential uses to one dedicated to a single use as a gem."

The ruling added that "the fact that the processing of the raw rubies also includes heat treatment . . . adds further weight to this conclusion." In other words, not only was the shape of the material transformed, but the color as well.

While the ruling is definitive, it represents little change from the way gem exports have always been counted. For example, experts in the gem industry agree that upwards of 90 percent of the ruby used in jewelry comes from Myanmar. And yet, looking at the import statistics for 2002 — the last full year before the ban went into effect — more than half of the United States’ ruby was reported as coming from Thailand, where most Myanmar ruby is cut. A mere 3 percent entered the United States directly from Myanmar officially. The word has become discreet – talk about Thailand and the wonderful cut and color . . . leave out the stuff on Burma. Geez!!!

With the ruling in place, the trade in Myanmar gemstones can legally return to normal. While the ban still covers gemstones imported from Myanmar, gemstones bearing the Burma label represents such a small percentage of the gem trade that it will prove little hindrance. However, the issue is far from settled.

When buying a striking ruby, it may be impossible to know where it originated, so stick to the old rule of thumb that beauty and size are what matters.

HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS

In early March, Tiffany & Co. issued a statement saying that it would "continue its long-standing purchase moratorium on rubies, spinel, and jadeite mined in Burma." Of course, there was no explanation of why they sought a court ruling on the specifics of ruby importation in the first place.

The announcement was immediately hailed by human-rights group U.S. Campaign for Burma (USCB), which had contacted Tiffany & Co. to request a clarification on the retailer’s position.

"Tiffany made a public announcement that they would be buying gemstones from Burma," explained Jeremy Woodrum, spokesperson for the USCB. He contacted them to express his concern and was told that they were planning to continue their moratorium on buying after all.

"We are continuing with our policy — which has been in effect since the ban went into effect — not to purchase gemstones from Burma," confirmed Tiffany & Co. spokesperson Linda Buckley in an interview with Colored Stone.

Why request a ruling from the CBP if they didn’t plan to start buying gemstones from Myanmar again?

"We just wanted clarification [on the substantial transformation rule]," explained Buckley. "Some people thought it meant this, some people thought it meant that. There were a variety of opinions, and the easiest way to sort that out was to ask for a clarification. Once we had the ruling, we looked at everything and decided to continue our policy."

In fact, Tiffany’s moratorium extends to all ruby, spinel, and jadeite, not just the gemstones that are identifiably from Myanmar. "We know that the quality of gemstones we would consider purchasing would come from Burma," Buckley said.

The group that is perhaps most affected is the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA); many of the association’s members rely financially on Myanmar gemstones. Right now, the association simply asks its members to obey the law.

"Currently, the AGTA requires all its members to follow the laws of the countries in which they work," said Eric Braunwart, president of the AGTA. "This ruling would allow them to legally sell Burmese stones in the U.S., provided they certified they were cut in a third country."

The Jewelers of America (JA) — the largest trade association representing retail jewelers — takes a similar view.

"If a retailer, JA member or otherwise, chooses not to sell Burmese stones imported via other countries, that is their right," said Clifford Jackson, JA’s marketing manager. "However, JA is not encouraging or recommending retailers to take that step."

But the USCB doesn’t plan to let the issue rest. "We would definitely urge all Americans and others not to shop at companies who buy gemstones from Burma, and also not to purchase gemstones mined in Burma," Woodrum said. "We have thousands of members across the U.S. They read magazines and surf the Web. . . . We will know if a company is doing it." I have my personal doubts. If you are concerned about Burma rubies, ask. You will learn more by asking a direct question quietly on the side, then expecting forthright disclosure on really stunning gemstones. I have bought stones I was told were from Thailand, and my gem hound nose tells me they are definitively from Burma.

Once a gemstone hits the trade, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify its origin without extensive laboratory testing. Any reputable dealer will work with you on information you desire, and routinely grant long periods for returns to allow you appraisals and second opinions about the quality and worth of any gemstone investment.