A Buyer’s Guide to Ruby Rings: Natural AAAA vs AAA vs AA

Birthstone and Anniversaries

Ruby is July’s birthstone. It is also the gem for 15th and 40th anniversaries.

Meaning and Lore

Ruby is the symbol of passion, making it an ideal romantic gift. It is often associated with the objects of desire, wealth and success

Quality Factors

The price of rubies range significantly depending on quality. Given the lack of a global standardized ruby grading system, it is important to know what to look for when purchasing ruby jewelry.

Color is the most important

Rubies generally range from all shades of red to reddish pink. Rubies and sapphires come from the same family of stones known as corundums (aluminum oxide). Generally, all red corundums are classified as rubies while the rest are classified as sapphires.

The most valuable rubies have a medium red to medium dark red tone. Much darker red or lighter pinker shades are considerably less valuable. Lighter shades are classified as pink sapphires.

Clarity & Luster

Rubies are expected to have at least some inclusions since inclusion-free rubies are practically non-existent. The fewer or smaller the inclusions, the higher the ruby’s price. Inclusions that reduce the lustre and brilliance of the ruby also significantly lower its value.

Buyer’s note: Since almost all rubies are expected to have some form of inclusions, should you come across a perfectly clear red stone – it may be a synthetic, lab-created, artificial or even an imitation stone given how rare perfectly clear rubies are.

The image above shows how the color of the ruby often varies according to the mine or country it has been sourced from.

Diamondere’s Quality Grading System

We only use Natural AAAA and Natural AAA quality rubies in all our jewelry.

Beware of the glass-filled ruby!

Rubies often undergo some form of heat treatment to increase their lustre. Generally this is accepted industry practice. However, there are several rubies which have fractures and a lot of inclusions that greatly diminish their structure and make it unfit for jewelry. To dramatically increase their transparency, these rubies are often filled with lead glass. This is no longer a natural ruby and it sells for a fraction of the cost of a natural ruby. The natural ruby sells for hundreds or even thousands of dollars per carat, while the glass filled version sells for a few dollars per carat. If you can find any gas bubbles in a ruby, then most likely it is not a natural ruby.

What ruby qualities are typically at Diamondere?

For all the Ruby jewelry on our own website, we typically use some of the best Natural AAAA sapphires from Burma* and Mozambique. Burmese Rubies are well-accepted as the best Rubies known to man. For a long-time, the US had imposed a ban on Burmese Rubies but this was lifted a few years ago by Obama. An average Burmese rubies is Redder than a Mozambique Ruby but the Mozambique one has a little more luster. A Burmese Ruby with superior luster is considered an Heirloom Ruby and can be sourced on request. 

However, you can request any of Natural AAAA or Natural AAA (or even Natural AA) qualities and we will revert with prices and images within 48 hours.