13.24 carat Burma Ruby Ring
This magnificent Burma Ruby is set in a stunning platinum ring with a split shouldered, knife-edge beveled shank, micro pavé set with diamond and ruby accents. Creatively unique, this delightful ring is signed S. H. Silver Company 4585.
Among the colored gemstones, ruby is by far the most valuable, exceeded in price per carat only by the rarest pink, blue and green diamonds. Yet it is only ruby from one small area of the world that is so highly prized. The town of Mogok in upper Burma is remote and inaccessible and has been for hundreds of years.
For centuries the finest rubies in the world have come from this small area of a few square miles, but it was not until the British annexed the region in the late 19th century that deposits could be mined effectively. The number of gem-quality stones over 5 carats that emerged during the period of British ownership was relatively small, and further mining virtually ceased after the departure of the British just before the Second World War. In the later part of the 20th century we saw an increase in the availability of Burma rubies, but gem quality stones over 5 carats are still considered extremely rare and collectable.
Rubies from Burma are mainly colored by chromium giving them the distinctive blood red hue (often called pigeon blood) with which the finest gem quality stones have always been associated. Chromium in gemstones often gives rise to a strong fluorescence. In the case of Burmese rubies this fluorescence will exhibit itself even by artificial light which, being strong in the red end spectrum, causes the stone to appear almost internally illuminated and glowing.
Their extraordinary beauty combined with their rarity make Burma rubies among the most valuable and desirable of the precious colored gemstones.
