What comes to your mind when you hear rubies? Blood fire, Dorothy’s slippers from the Wizard of OZ, Melisandre’s ruby and red gold necklace in the Game of Thrones series, or Queen Elizabeth’s tiara? For hundreds of years, deep red colored gems have come to mean love, royalty, and wealth.
Royals have always taken to ruby because of the meaning behind the gem. Queen Elizabeth often wore her Ruby Tiara gracefully. Her custom-made tiara featured 96 rubies which were a wedding gift from the people of Burma. Rubies were believed to keep one healthy and ward off evil spirits in Burmese culture. Gifting her 96 rubies was symbolic as it was to protect the queen from 96 diseases that plague humanity. She lived for 96 years and died in September 2022. The stones did keep her healthy to old age.
Only four gems are considered elite in gemology. They are diamond, emerald, sapphire, and ruby. Rubies were called the “king of precious stones” in ancient India and were considered the stone of kings. The Indians believed rubies were responsible for making its owners be at peace with their enemies.
But meanings and importance have changed across cultures in history. The ancient Hindus believed offering five rubies to the god Krishna granted the ability to be reincarnated as an emperor.
Burmese warriors kept ruby within themselves when going to battle as they believed it made them invisible. In fact, warriors went in so far as inserting rubies in their flesh making the gem and the power it provides one with them.
Ruby did not lose its attraction over several centuries and rose to prominence again during the rise of the Western world, becoming one the most sought after gems by royals and the high and mighty in European society since they believed it guaranteed good health, wealth, and success in love.
Today, Ruby is a popular engagement ring stone. The July birthstone was a fitting choice for July-born Jessica Simpson’s engagement ring. So also, was her talented sister, Ashlee Simpson. Orlando Bloom proposed to Katy Perry in 2022 with a bedazzling vintage 2-carat oval ruby ring in a halo setting surrounded by 8 white diamonds. But if you needed more reasons to make this stone the engagement ring pick for your loved one, then read on.
2. Rubies symbolize health, wealth, and love.
Rubies have grown to become status symbols in European culture. Given that royalties loved them and often wore them. It is not surprising at all that ruby is associated with power, wealth, health, and wisdom. The necessary traits of a ruler. Chinese noblemen found rubies valuable too and it is said that they buried rubies beneath their houses for good fortune. A good fortune is the aspiration of every couple, and a ruby engagement ring could be the perfect representation of that when it is time to pop the question.
2. Rubies are hard and durable!
Like diamond, Ruby is one of the hardest and most durable gem in existence. Ruby has a hardness rating of 9 on the Mohs scale, falling one short of diamond in 10. People who own a ruby ring or jewelry know they can use it for a long time, and never have to worry too much when they are out and about.
Rubies belong to the corundum family of gemstone, along with its sister stone, Sapphire. Its intense romantic red hue comes from the element chromium. The most high quality ruby is a transparent medium-dark pinkish-red to red variety. These kinds contain little to no inclusions and are so rare, they cost as much as diamonds and in some cases, more.
3. Rubies are July's birthstone
Born in July? Ruby is your birthstone. What a delight to have one of the world’s most beautiful and rarest gems as your signature stone. Ruby starkly constrats June’s birthstone, the elegant pearl. Ruby’s powerful force and vibrancy might just be what the July born Leo and Cancer need when looking for a new sense of vitality to carry through life. Befittingly, the natural inclination to love and passion from Leo’s or Cancer’s truly represents ruby in every way.
4. This is passion gemstone
Red is the color that represents our most fiery emotions - love and passion. This makes ruby the perfect gemstone for an engagement ring or a gift to significant other. Looking for a close alternative to the diamond? Then break from the norm with a ruby in a box, knee to the ground as you ask her to marry you.
5. Rubies are so rare
Colorless diamonds are so often spoken of as the rarest gemstones. A rarity that is typically attributed to the control of its supply, which creates a false scarcity and boosts its value in the market. Rubies, on the other hand, are naturally rare and more so than diamonds making high quality natural rubies a worthy investment. The conditions have to be unique for these kinds of rubies to form in the earth's crust. This can take hundreds of millions of years to happen.
Wrapping Up
Ruby for engagement rings and jewelry will never run out of style. They are timeless and make elegant, attractive pieces. So when the time comes to choose an engagement ring, you can be sure that a ruby engagement ring will show your deepest affection. You can’t go wrong with it. Hopefully, these few reasons are enough to convince you to choose a ring that is not only aesthetically pleasing but compliments her overall appearance.
Gothic Ruby Ring
Kite cut red ruby engagement ring set