Once you have considered whether yellow gold, white gold, sterling silver or some other metal is what you are after, the next thing to think about is the stone itself. You already decided on a ruby ring, but there is the question of size and shape. Both of these will be dictated to a large extent by your budget, and of course bigger rubies will mean a bigger price tag. It is important to ask about the origin of the ruby in the ring you are going to purchase; the expensive ones are natural, and prices depend on the quality of the stone and its geographical origin. Since rubies are rarer than diamonds, demand has been fulfilled by using lab created rubies for jewelry, and these are more affordable. Do be careful though, because there are all sorts of techniques available nowadays to enhance the look of precious stones, and many poorer quality rubies are used after treatments to make them look better than they really are – you do not want to be paying top dollar for something that is mediocre.

To help you cut through the next stage – the shape or cut of the ruby – here is a brief summary of the common styles around, which you will see while shopping for that perfect gift. These cuts are used for other gemstones also, and the cut used is generally decided upon by taking account of the shape of the raw (pre-cut) stone and the imperfections within it.

Oval Cut ruby rings are very popular although the cut itself is fairly modern. It was developed for diamonds in the 1960s and is designed to return as much light as possible for that extra sparkle. The oval cut is a more recent development based on the older round brilliant cut – which again was originally created to accentuate diamonds.

Round Brilliant Cut ruby rings are rarer than the oval cut ones, but also incredibly popular. They are sometimes called round rubies, but in fact, like diamonds, there is a difference. Round diamonds have less facets and will, as a result, sparkle less (return less light) than the more advanced and more highly faceted round brilliant version. Still absolutely dazzling though!

Marquise Cut ruby rings are another beautifully shaped piece of gemstone jewelry, and wonderful as engagement rings. The marquise – pronounced “mar-keez” – is similar to the oval, but pointed at both ends. It is often used as a central stone, supported by other accenting gemstones. The style was invented for the Marquise de Pompedeur, the mistress of King Louis XIV.

Cushion Cut ruby rings include the gemstone in one of the older, more traditional shapes. In common with the marquise style, cushion cut – sometimes called pillow cut – rubies usually take the role of central character, with smaller gems acting as accents. They can be square or rectangular, and are faceted to provide maximum brilliance.

Emerald Cut ruby rings contain the ruby shaped the way emeralds were traditionally cut. Of course, emeralds are still cut this way, as are diamonds, and although this particular style has all the hallmarks of the Art Deco period, it is enjoying a renaissance nowadays. It has cropped corners and is a great cut for showing off the luster of the ruby.

Heart Shaped ruby rings make a cute and romantic gift to a lover. The cut of these gemstones takes considerable skill in order to get the best brilliance from them. Pear cut rubies are a mixture that has an oval cut at one end and a marquise cut at the other. Then to cut a heart shaped ruby, a cleft is cut into the oval end. Heart shaped rubies are rare, but a beautiful way to provide a romatic surprise for your partner.

In all the example pictures, the ruby rings have a large central ruby, and could be described as solitaire rings. These larger gemstones will push the prices of the rings up substantially, and so it is just as nice to find ones that have smaller gems. For example, you will find eternity rings set with rubies, and they might be round cut, or emerald cut; in the latter case they will generally all touch snugly against each other to for a continuous red band around the outside of the ring.

There are also other types of gemstone cuts not described above. The ones I have covered are some of the most common ones you will find in your quest for knowledge about ruby rings, to help you decide which one will be just right. Find out more and buy Ruby Jewelry

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The ruby ring itself appears in many forms, from the precious large solitaire, to the square cut ruby eternity band which features small rubies all around the outer edge of the ring. Often the ruby or rubies will be accompanied by diamonds which adds to the beauty of this accessory.

It is only relatively recently that you can buy a ruby ring and be assured that the gemstone is, in fact, a ruby. For centuries – spanning back to Roman times – people have been passing off fakes as the genuine article. It was common to discover later that a royal crown, for example, was encrusted with beautiful, but nevertheless fake, rubies – usually garnets or spinels, which are both also red in color, but not valuable like ruby.

If you have a ruby ring and want to know how to care for it, and clean and polish it, your first port of call should be a jeweler, as you will need to know for certain that the gemstone is a real ruby. If the surface is covered in small scratches, there is a risk that it’s a fake. But before you think about throwing it away, remember that although ruby is a very hard mineral, it can get scratched by other rubies, and certainly by diamonds, which are pretty much the only things that can causes scratches on  the surface. A good tip with any rings is to keep the case and store the rings separately, rather than throwing them all into a jewelry box when you’re not wearing them. This will prevent them rubbing up against each other and causing damage.

A clouded ruby, although possibly not as sparkly or attractive as a clear, transparent one, will almost always be genuine and, more importantly, natural – this makes it more valuable. There are many artificially produced rubies out there, and also a high number of chemically treated ones, which all aspire to attain a higher price. The one thing to be certain about is that if you ever encounter the “perfect” ruby, completely flawless in its structure, then you’ve got a fake!

Once you have established that your ruby ring is the genuine article, by getting it examined by an expert, then if there are lots of scratches on the surface, first, make sure you keep it separate from other diamond, sapphire or ruby jewelry. Second – the bad news – you will not be able to polish away the damage by yourself. It will be best to go to an expect – sometimes called a lapidary – to get the gemstone restored properly. This will involved removing a very thin layer of the surface to even it out again. It might be costly to get this done, and as always, the best advice is to prevent damage rather than find a cure after the damage is done! Learn more and buy Ruby Jewelry.

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