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Pigeon's Blood Rubies

A pigeon's blood ruby is a ruby whose colour a laboratory has judged to be a pure, vivid red with at most a slight purplish tint and strong red fluorescence, measured against that laboratory's master stones. The term began in the Burmese trade for the finest Mogok rubies and is now a report designation applied by GRS, Gübelin and SSEF on criteria that differ. Byrex Gems offers pigeon's blood rubies to the trade from Toronto, filmed unedited in our office, with prices for approved buyers and viewings by appointment.

Among the pigeon's blood rubies listed today: 1.38 ct Oval Ruby, EGL, Burma Heated, 6.04 ct Oval Ruby, GRS, Burma Heated, 6.00 ct Oval Ruby, GRS, Madagascar Unheated, 5.01 ct Pear Ruby, GRS, Burma Heated, 4.35 ct Pear/Square Ruby Pair (2.21 + 2.14 ct), GRS, Mozambique Unheated, 4.21 ct Heart Ruby Pair (2.04 + 2.17 ct), GRS, Mozambique Unheated and 64 more.

Where the term pigeon's blood comes from

Pigeon's blood translates a Burmese trade term for the finest red of Mogok, a colour the dealers compared with the first drops of blood from a freshly killed pigeon or, in another telling, the centre of a living pigeon's eye. For most of its history it was spoken rather than written, a word used between dealers who had seen enough Mogok rubies to agree on what it meant.

What they were describing has a cause. Mogok rubies grew in marble with very little iron, so the chromium that colours them also makes them fluoresce red under daylight, and the fluorescence adds a glow to an already saturated red. A pigeon's blood ruby is therefore not just a hue; it is a pure, vivid red with at most a trace of purple, lit from inside by its own fluorescence, with no brown, orange or grey to dull it.

That combination of high chromium and low iron is rare outside marble deposits, which is why the term stayed attached to Burma for a century and why its extension to other origins is now a matter of laboratory policy.

How laboratories apply the term

GRS brought pigeon's blood onto its reports as a defined designation and remains its principal user. Its wording is "vivid red (GRS-type pigeon blood)", with intense-to-vivid and vivid-to-deep transitional grades, judged against master stones and requiring strong red fluorescence under long-wave ultraviolet light. GRS withholds the term from stones with colour zoning, windowing, distracting inclusions, beryllium treatment, lead-glass filling or more than minor heating residues; standard heating with no or minor residues does not disqualify. GRS also issues an appendix for rubies of the right colour but weaker fluorescence, describing them as reminiscent of its pigeon blood type.

Gübelin and SSEF harmonised their criteria and apply "pigeon blood red" only to untreated rubies, with no heating of any kind, that match their master stones, show strong fluorescence, carry no eye-visible or dark inclusions and have even colour. The term is not restricted to Mogok, but most rubies from outside Burma fail the fluorescence requirement.

GIA describes colour in plain words and does not define pigeon's blood as a grade; AGL does not use it as a report term. The same ruby can therefore carry the designation from one laboratory and not from another, and both reports can be correct.

What to check before buying a pigeon's blood ruby

Read the exact wording. "Vivid red (GRS-type pigeon blood)" is the designation; a GRS appendix saying the stone is reminiscent of it is not. On a Gübelin or SSEF report the phrase is "pigeon blood red", and its presence tells you the stone is untreated as well as fine, because those laboratories apply it to nothing else.

Then read the treatment line on its own. A GRS pigeon blood ruby may be heated, and the H code tells you whether it is; an unheated and a heated stone with the same colour designation are different objects at very different values. Confirm that the report matches the stone by weight, measurements and photograph, and look at the ruby viewed from the top under incandescent light, where a true pigeon's blood colour lifts and glows.

Sizes above two carats with the designation are scarce; pairs with matching designations are rarer still and worth a search. A seller's use of the phrase without a report behind it means nothing. At the bench, an unheated or heat-only stone takes normal handling.

What the designation does to value

A pigeon's blood designation from a respected laboratory adds a premium because it compresses colour, saturation and fluorescence into a single word that auction houses, retailers and private buyers recognise. It does not replace the other factors. Treatment status still divides the market, with unheated stones far above heated; origin still counts, with Mogok at the top; clarity and size still compound.

The strongest position is a ruby that carries the term from two laboratories with different criteria, for instance GRS and SSEF, because the Swiss designation certifies that the stone is untreated and the GRS designation is the one most widely quoted. A GRS designation on a heated stone is a genuine colour statement, but the stone should be priced as a heated ruby.

Buyers should also allow for the fact that the term is now applied to several origins. A Mozambique ruby with a GRS pigeon blood designation is a fine stone, and is still priced as a Mozambique ruby.

Mozambique stones that qualify and famous examples

GRS lists Mozambique among the origins eligible for its pigeon blood type, alongside Burma, Vietnam, Tanzania, Madagascar, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, because its criteria rest on colour, fluorescence and chemistry rather than on a map. The finest Montepuez rubies, low enough in iron to fluoresce, now receive the designation regularly.

The Estrela de Fura shows how the laboratories diverge. The 55.22 carat Mozambique ruby sold at Sotheby's New York in 2023, the record for any ruby at auction, carried laboratory reports stating no indications of heating. GRS gave it the pigeon blood designation; SSEF and Gübelin described a saturated, homogeneous red without the term. The Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59 carat Mogok ruby sold in Geneva in 2015, is the Burmese reference point for the term.

The designation is also widely misused in retail listings, applied to any red stone with a good photograph. In the trade, and at Byrex, it is used only when it appears on the report, and the laboratory is named with it.

Buying pigeon's blood rubies from Byrex Gems

Byrex Gems has served the jewellery trade from Toronto since 1988, and more than seven thousand jewellers, designers and dealers have bought from us in that time, some of them for decades. Many of our pigeon's blood rubies carry reports from GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, GIA and other leading laboratories, and every stone is filmed in our office, unedited, so what you see is what arrives.

Approved trade buyers see prices online. A message on WhatsApp at +1 (437) 450-3786 is answered within hours; an email to info@byrex.com, the same day, seven days a week. What is listed is a part of what we hold: more pigeon's blood rubies are kept in the vault, and what we do not hold ourselves we can source through our offices worldwide. Private viewings are arranged by appointment in Toronto, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Dubai.

Pigeon's Blood Rubies: questions buyers ask

What does pigeon's blood mean on a ruby report?

That the laboratory judged the colour a pure, vivid red with at most a slight purplish tint and strong red fluorescence, against its master stones. GRS writes vivid red (GRS-type pigeon blood); Gübelin and SSEF write pigeon blood red and apply it only to untreated stones.

Can a heated ruby be called pigeon's blood?

At GRS, yes, provided the heating left no more than minor residues; the H code on the report shows the treatment. Gübelin and SSEF apply the term only to untreated rubies. Always read the treatment line separately from the colour designation.

Is pigeon's blood only for Burma rubies?

No longer. GRS lists Mozambique, Vietnam, Tanzania, Madagascar, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as eligible alongside Burma. Gübelin and SSEF do not restrict by origin but require strong fluorescence, which most non-Burmese rubies lack. Mogok remains the historic reference.

Does GIA grade rubies as pigeon's blood?

GIA describes colour in plain words on its reports and does not define pigeon's blood as a grade. If a GIA report accompanies a ruby sold as pigeon's blood, the designation has usually come from a second report by GRS, Gübelin or SSEF.

Which reports does Byrex supply with pigeon's blood rubies?

Only stones whose report carries the designation are described that way at Byrex, and the laboratory is named. Most carry GRS, with SSEF or Gübelin reports on important unheated stones. GRS reports are shown on the stone page and a further report can be arranged.

Does Byrex show pigeon's blood rubies to private clients?

Yes, by appointment at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Private clients view the same stones and reports as the trade; prices are released to approved trade buyers who sign in. Byrex can also source a designated stone to a brief.

Can I compare pigeon's blood rubies in Toronto?

Yes. At an appointment the stones are shown under daylight and incandescent light beside rubies without the designation, which makes the difference in glow plain. Each ruby is also filmed unedited in our office so you can study it before you visit.

Why do two laboratories disagree on the same ruby?

Because each applies its own master stones and rules. GRS judges colour and fluorescence and allows standard heating; Gübelin and SSEF require an untreated stone and stricter fluorescence. Both reports can be accurate; the difference is in the criteria, not the stone.

Byrex Gems, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds for the trade since 1988, and for private clients by appointment.

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