The word ruby derives from the latin word rubinus, meaning red. Ruby belongs to the corundum family of gemstones and it is composed of crystalline aluminium oxide in which small amounts of chromium in the form of chromic oxides (less than 1%) is present. It is this small quantity of chromic oxide which gives ruby its distinctive colour, which at its best has been said to be "pigeon's blood" red. Rubies are also found, however, that have abrownish tinge, and so are stones which are pale, being pink rather than red.Corundum, of which ruby is composed, is not all that rare. Indeed in the form of emery it provides a popular, effective and readily obtainable grinding medium. But corundum in the form of clear crystals coloured red by the presence of chromic oxide is very rare indeed. It is today probaly the rarest of all gemstones, large crystals being rarer still. A ruby as large as five carats is something quite exceptional.

Rubys attractive colour at one time led to its being associated with blood, and it was thought to give protection from all the ailemnts that the blood is heir to, and to protect those who wore it from wounds. It was also supposed to remove evil thoughts. Although assocaited with passion, the ruby was believed to control it, and it was also credited with being able to solve disputes.In sanskrit, the sacred language of India, the names for ruby are Ratnaraj meaning "king of precious stones" and Ratnanayaka or "leader of precious stones". The Hindus believed that its colour was due to an inextinguishable fire burning deep within it and said that this inner fire could not be hidden - it would even shine through clothing. Furthermore it could cause liquids to boil. Besides its beauty, ruby has a hardness to reccommend it, the hardness of corundum being what makes emery paper so effective. At 9 on the Moh's scale of hardness ruby is very hard, which means that it will take and retain a high polish and is particularly suitable for setting as a ring stone.

Ruby has a very long history. In the Mogork region of BURMA, which over the years has produced the finest of rubies, tools from the stone age and the Bronze age have been found. Right down to modern times the mining in this, as in so many areas where coloured stones are found, has been primitive, what is described as "native mining." This in the Mogok stone tract, conists of sinking shafts twenty or thirty feet down to reach the gem-bearing gravels. The miner then squats at the bottom of his hole, scraping away at the gravel and loading it into a absket which is periodically hauled up to the surface by means of a primitive bamboo hoist. The gravel is then washed and picked over to find any rubies contained in it.The areas where the rubies are found is notoriously unhealthy, and the only people whom the kings of Burma could at one time persuade to work the deposits were captives taken in war, who had no choice in the matter.After the British annexed upper Burma in 1886, a company was created and open cast mining went on there until 1931. Since then the miners have reverted to the old methods, but since Burma regained her independance it has become more and more difficult to obtain stones from this region.It now seems that mining has ceased altogether or that the Burmanese Goverment is not realasing any stones on the market. So scarce have these stones become that many people have not seen a fine burma ruby.Fortunatley, there are other sources of ruby. In the Far East they are found in Thailand and in small numbers in Sri Lanka. There is also small deposits in Afghanistan and in Mysore in India.