Among the four major gemstones, ruby carries a profound historical heritage and is a gemstone that is baptized and blessed by gods. Therefore, the bright red color and tough quality of rubies are regarded as the guardian stones of culture, status, family, health, etc.; rubies are also internationally designated as the birthstone of July.
The King of Gemstones at the Founding of Civilization
In medieval Europe, rubies were regarded as gems of divine mercy. It is recorded in the European Christian classic "The Bible" that there are four rows of gems distributed on the breastplate of the priest Aaron. The ruby ranks first in the first row. In ancient times, whether in the West or the East, the order was different. Status is important. The first one is often in the highest and most important position. From the order of arrangement here, we can see that ruby was already the "King of Gemstones" in the early days of civilization.
Priest Aaron's breastplate studded with precious stones [Internet picture]
The status gem of noble lineage
In China, ruby is called "Light Pearl" in "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" and is believed to bring light. The crowns of queens of several generations have been inlaid with high-quality rubies, symbolizing the status and sustenance of the concubine. In the official crown system of the Qing Dynasty, the top of the hat was usually inlaid with gems, and the first-rank officials were inlaid with rubies.
The Nine Dragons and Nine Phoenixes Crown of Empress Dowager Cixi [Collection of the National Museum of China]
Official hat of a first-rank official in the Qing Dynasty [Internet image]
In India, ruby is considered the national gemstone and is known as "ratnaraj"or"ratnayaka", meaning "Queen of Gemstones" and "Head of Gemstones" respectively. Indian princes are also keen to collect the most precious rubies in the world. This is not only a symbol of status and wealth, but also a rare gemstone recognized by culture.On the other hand, Native Americans believe that if someone receives a ruby bestowed by the tribal chief, then they will become the new chief in their next life.
Health Gemstones for Body Purification
The famous Mogok, Myanmar, is rich in pigeon-blood red rubies, and the warriors here believed that rubies could protect people from harm. They embedded rubies in their bodies to pray for invulnerability. What's interesting is that in the eyes of the Burmese people, bright red rubies are mature members of the corundum family, and those with darker colors need to be reburied in the ground to continue to develop.
In traditional Russian culture, people believe that rubies can fill people with vitality, cleanse the blood, and are good for the heart and brain. It is said that Henry VIII’s first wife foresaw her impending death because the color of the ruby she owned gradually turned dull.
In Western culture to this day, people are also very keen on wearing ruby rings on their left hands in order to turn misfortune into good luck and enemies into friends.
Myanmar pigeon blood ruby [Photo source: Sotheby's]
More gem knowledge
"Ruby, a traditional gemstone in mainstream collections, can be called the king of colored gems and a long-standing general in the auction house. Buying rubies may not be difficult, but how to buy a good ruby is the essence of buying. If you want to quickly master the key points of selecting rubies , come and see......"
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"Emerald is one of the four internationally recognized gemstones (the four major gemstones include rubies, sapphires and diamonds in addition to emeralds). However, the geological conditions for the formation of emeralds are more complex and special than rubies and sapphires, so the output is also Even......"
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