Ancient Orientals believed that the ruby contained a spark of life -- "a deep drop of the heart's blood of Mother Earth" Eastern legends called ruby a lamp stone as it was self-luminous. It is said that once an emperor of China lighted his chamber with a large ruby & it glowed as bright as day.

Ruby is the red variety of the corundum mineral, ranks 9 on Mohs scale, sharing status with sapphire as the hardest gem after diamond. It is considered as one of the most valuable gemstone on our earth. With a wonderful color, excellent hardness & an overwhelming brilliance, ruby has been a much desired precious stone.

The gemstone ruby represents the sun, ruler of all planets. Sun represents authority, power, self, body & health. The wearer of ruby enjoys wealth & property, name & fame in the political sphere & overall prosperity. He becomes virile and his will power and spirit is strengthened. He occupies a respected position in the society & is blessed with a son. Ruby is the birthstone for the month of July and also for zodiac sign of Leo. It increases energy levels and will stimulate love if worn close to the heart. It protects sensitive natures, health and wealth, controls passion, stimulates blood circulation, gives calm sleep and takes away nightmares.

The most important aspect about a valuable gemstone is its color. The ruby is found in a variety of crimson and scarlet red colors ranging from pink to a deep ruddy violet color. Red color of the ruby symbolizes fire & blood, implying warmth and life for mankind. If you like to live your life intensely, but find it hard to keep focus, a Ruby can help bring clarity and wisdom.

Their rarity, beauty & hence value, make them best suited for ornamentation. You can find rubies in each category of jewelry such as bracelets, rings, earrings, pendants & necklaces. Engraved Rubies were very popular for attracting wealth and enhancing magical energies. Dragons and snakes were favored figures. A Ruby was considered one of the more important gifts to honor Buddha and Krishna with. Synthetic Ruby stones are quite common and very difficult to tell from natural stones. Only a trained eye can detect the differences in crystalline structures, all other elements are identical.

For a long time India was considered as the classical country of Rubies. In the ancient language of Sanskrit, the Ruby is called Ratnaraj or king of precious stones. The most famous source for natural gem-quality ruby is Myanmar (Burma). Good stones also come from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and recently, Vietnam has been a source too. However, Burma remains the largest & best abode for finest rubies.