Burmese Ruby Quality

Old Burma ruby is synonymous to words ‘popularity’ and ‘high prices’. Being the most sought after colored gemstone and uncommonly rare, it commands high premium in the global market. It is thus not surprising that a fine quality Old Burma Ruby is highly regulated and sensitively dealt to place it fairly in the gemstone market. To decide their worth, Burmese rubies are assessed chiefly on color and clarity.

• Color

  – Of all the quality factors, color of ruby has the most profound impact on its overall price. To qualify as a high worth Old Burma ruby, it is must that color of ruby gemstone is balanced naturally to enhance its brightness. It should neither be too dark or too light. Burmese or old Burma ruby performs excellently on color saturation, tone and consistency. The finest Burmese ruby displays a pure, vivid red or what is known in the gemstone trade, pigeon blood color. Vibrant red and deep pink color are other shades that hold highly value in the gemstone market.

• Clarity

  – Rubies are fairly included gemstones with both visible and invisible inclusions. However, when compared to other origins, old Burma rubies fare relatively better when it comes to clarity. They usually contain rutile needle like inclusions that are visible to the naked eye. Eye clean Burmese rubies are exceptionally rare and tend to have invisible inclusions. A Burma ruby with inclusions imply that the ruby is original, considering that synthetic rubies faking as Mogok rubies are sold on a big scale in the market.

Pigeon Blood Ruby

People often mistake Pigeon Blood ruby either as a different variety or assume that it is by default a Burmese ruby. It is important to understand that pigeon blood ruby is named after its color and not origin. Pigeon blood is the most desirable and sophisticated color in rubies. It draws its name from the color matching exactly with the blood drawn from a freshly killed pigeon.

A pigeon blood ruby displays this color with a slight tint of purple that goes on to form a deep red color when seen in light. It is this color-effect that makes Pigeon blood Burmese ruby, universally popular. For this reason, Pigeon blood ruby price per carat is exponentially higher than other ruby varieties. Since, it is found in majority of rubies from Burma, people often address Pigeon blood ruby as Old Burma ruby or vice-versa.