Jubilee Gems Part 1 - intro to Red Gemstones
To celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, I thought I’d speak about some red white and blue gemstones that are fit for a queen!
In this first blog post - I’ll introduce you to some stunning red gemstones
Red gemstones have been worn for centuries. Red has strong symbolic associations with love and passion, and the colour looks wonderful on all skin colours, but true red colours are rare in the world of gems. Red gemstones range from the orangey-reds of Mexican Fire Opals to the deep burgundies of Rhodolite Garnets. But lets first talk about the most widely known …
Ruby
The classic red gemstone is of course Ruby - The most desired colour is called Pigeon’s Blood.
Ruby is a variety of the mineral corundum - and so is Sapphire - but the presence of chromium gives ruby its red hue. They are rarer than the other sapphire colours and generally come in smaller carat sizes too.
Rubies and Sapphires are super hard wearing and are suitable for daily wear - hence they are so brilliant in engagement rings. Many rubies and sapphires are heated to improve their colours. Ruby is the traditional birthstone for July.
Now feast your eyes on this magnificent 3.08ct unheated Mozambique Ruby in that oh so desired pigeon’s blood red, it was mined on the 4th January 2016 - at just under 1cm long, don’t expect much (any) change out of £50,000 for this gemstone alone. However if you do have the budget, I would SERIOUSLY love to design a bespoke piece of jewellery with this exceptional exceptional gemstone!
… Form an orderly queue please!
Red Diamond
Now if that amazing ruby wasn’t rare enough - how about a Red Diamond? Only a handful of truly red diamonds have ever been mined (mainly in Australia and Africa) - you can find more information about red diamonds on the Cape Town Diamond Museum website here. But if you haven’t got a spare $million or two down the back of the sofa - keep scrolling down for some more reasonably priced red gems!
Red Spinel
For centuries, it was thought that Ruby and Spinel were the same material. The huge red Spinel that takes centre stage on the front of the Queen’s Imperial State Crown is in fact called the Black Prince’s ruby.
Spinel comes in a range of reds, blues, purples and greys and has great wearability, too, making it an excellent choice for an engagement ring. This pretty oval was unearthed on the 20th December 2020 in Tanzania.
Rubellite Tourmaline
Tourmaline - a modern October birthstone - comes in every color of the rainbow, but the red variety of tourmaline is called Rubellite and the red colour can range from rust to raspberry. Check out this gorgeous red Tourmaline from Tanzania in my Red Umba Ring:
Garnet
The traditional January Birthstone is best known for its deep red hues, but can appear in many different colours. Check out some of my Garnets of all colours here:
Other precious and semi precious gem varieties that can be red include Carnelian, Coral, Jasper, Zircon, Topaz, Beryl and Fire Opals.
