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Rubies

A ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum, coloured by traces of chromium; corundum of any other colour is called sapphire. Fine rubies of good size are among the rarest of all gems, and three things decide what a stone is worth: its colour, whether it has been heated or filled, and where it was mined. Byrex Gems offers rubies to the trade from Toronto, each stone filmed unedited in our office, with prices for approved buyers and viewings by appointment.

Where to buy rubies in Toronto

Byrex Gems lists 309 rubies online today. 220 of them come with a report from laboratories including GRS, GIA, CDC and SSEF. Origins include Burma (Myanmar), Mozambique, Thailand and Tanzania. Viewings are at our Toronto office, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, steps from Queen subway station, by appointment. We have supplied coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds to jewellers and designers since 1988, and welcome private clients by appointment. Prices are shown to approved trade accounts; private clients can ask us on WhatsApp, where we reply within 12 hours, or by email within 24 hours. Every stone ships insured, worldwide.

Among the rubies listed today: 4.67 ct Oval Ruby, Mozambique Heated, 1.38 ct Oval Ruby, EGL, Burma Heated, 1.29 ct Oval Ruby, EGL, Burma Heated, 1.08 ct Oval Ruby, Ceylon Heated, 16.69 ct Oval Cabochon Ruby, Burma Unheated, 15.36 ct Cushion Ruby, GIA, Mozambique, 14.73 ct Oval Ruby, GIA, Mozambique Heated, 14.17 ct Oval Ruby, GIA, Mozambique Heated, 13.83 ct Oval Ruby, GIA, Mozambique Heated, 13.18 ct Oval Ruby, GIA, Unheated, 12.43 ct Star Oval Ruby, Gübelin + IGI, Burma Unheated, 11.05 ct Round Ruby Layout (36 pcs), Burma Heated and 297 more.

What a ruby is and where it is mined

Ruby is corundum, aluminium oxide, that owes its red to chromium replacing a small share of the aluminium in the crystal. Iron is the other element that matters: it dulls the colour and quenches the red fluorescence that gives the finest rubies their glow. Rubies from marble deposits carry little iron; rubies from basalt-related and amphibole-related deposits carry more.

The Mogok Stone Tract in Myanmar is the historic source, mined for centuries, marble-hosted and low in iron, with fine silk and strong fluorescence. Mong Hsu, also in Myanmar and worked since the early 1990s, yields smaller crystals with dark cores that are almost always removed by heating. Thailand's Chanthaburi and Trat districts, the old Siam rubies, gave darker, iron-rich stones with little fluorescence; those deposits are largely worked out and Chanthaburi is now a cutting and heating centre.

Mozambique changed the market. The Montepuez deposit in Cabo Delgado, found in 2009, is now the largest source of ruby by volume and produces fine unheated stones as well as commercial goods. Madagascar (Andilamena, Vatomandry, Didy), Tanzania (Winza, found in 2007, and Longido), Vietnam and the marble belts of Afghanistan and Tajikistan complete the picture, each with a recognisable character.

How laboratories describe and grade rubies

A ruby report from GIA, GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, Lotus or AGL identifies the stone as natural corundum, variety ruby, records weight and measurements, describes the colour, states what treatment was detected and gives an opinion on origin. Those last two lines carry most of the value, so read them before anything else.

On treatment, GIA, Gübelin and SSEF write "no indications of heating" when they find none; GRS writes "no indication of thermal treatment". Heated stones are reported as heated, and where flux from the heating process has healed fractures, the laboratories note residues in fissures as minor, moderate or significant. GRS codes this as H, H(a), H(b), H(c) and H(d), with H(d) covering lead-glass filled material it calls composite ruby. Glass filling and beryllium diffusion must always be disclosed, and laboratories detect them by inclusions, spectra and trace-element chemistry.

Pigeon's blood is a laboratory term, not a general description. GRS applies "vivid red (GRS-type pigeon blood)" to rubies that meet its criteria for colour and fluorescence; Gübelin and SSEF apply "pigeon blood red" only to untreated rubies with strong fluorescence that match their master stones. Origin is an opinion based on inclusions and chemistry, and reports sometimes state it as inconclusive.

What to check before buying a ruby

Judge colour viewed from the top, under daylight-equivalent light and again under incandescent light, where a ruby with strong fluorescence lifts and an iron-rich ruby goes flat. Look for a window through the pavilion and for dark extinction across the stone; both are cut problems the report will not mention. Silk is normal in unheated rubies and a little of it softens the colour; dense silk makes a stone sleepy.

Most rubies are cut as cushions and ovals to keep weight from the rough, and many are cut in the country of origin with deep pavilions. Ask whether a stone has been recut and whether a recut would improve it; the weight loss can be worth it. Fine rubies above two carats are scarce and above five carats exceptional, so sizes in a parcel tend to cluster below those marks.

Pairs and close matches are harder in ruby than in sapphire because fluorescence has to match as well as hue and tone, and both stones should share the same treatment status and origin. For setting, corundum is hard and durable, but a glass-filled ruby is not: a torch, pickle or ultrasonic can damage the filler, so read the treatment line before any bench work.

What drives the value of a ruby

Colour comes first. The most sought-after rubies are a pure red to very slightly purplish red of strong saturation and medium tone, neither dark nor pinkish, with the glow that low iron and strong fluorescence produce. A slight orange or purple shift lowers the ranking, and a stone that goes brownish in incandescent light drops further.

Treatment is the next divider. A ruby with no indications of heating commands a premium over a heated ruby of the same look, and the gap widens with size and quality. Heated stones without residues sit below unheated; heated stones with residues sit below those; glass-filled rubies are a different product altogether.

Origin follows, with Burma at the top of the hierarchy for fine unheated stones and the best Mozambique rubies close behind. Clarity matters, though a ruby is not expected to be as clean as a diamond, and eye-visible silk is tolerated in a way that eye-visible fractures are not. Size compounds everything, because fine colour in a large crystal is the rarest combination of all, and a report from a leading laboratory makes each of these factors bankable.

Famous rubies and today's supply

The two rubies that define the modern market came from opposite ends of the ruby hierarchy. The Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59 carat Mogok ruby in a Cartier ring, set the auction record for a ruby at Sotheby's Geneva in 2015. The Estrela de Fura, a 55.22 carat Mozambique ruby cut from a 101 carat crystal found at Montepuez, took that record at Sotheby's New York in 2023 with laboratory reports stating no indications of heating.

Supply has shifted the same way. Mozambique now produces most of the world's ruby, Burma's output is small and subject to trade restrictions in some countries, and Thailand's own deposits are exhausted. Madagascar, Tanzania and Vietnam contribute fine stones in small numbers.

Ruby has look-alikes with long histories. Red spinel was called ruby for centuries, and the Black Prince's Ruby in the British Imperial State Crown is a spinel. Rhodolite and pyrope garnet, rubellite tourmaline and red glass are the other common substitutes. Synthetic ruby has been made since the early 1900s by flame fusion and later by flux growth, and lead-glass composites appeared in the 2000s. A laboratory report settles all of these questions.

Buying loose rubies from Byrex Gems

Byrex Gems has been in Toronto since 1988, and more than seven thousand trade customers in Canada and abroad have bought from us. Many of our rubies come with reports from GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, GIA and other leading laboratories; all of them are filmed in our office, unedited and unfiltered.

Approved trade buyers see prices online. Others may write at any hour: WhatsApp +1 (437) 450-3786 is answered within hours and email to info@byrex.com the same day, seven days a week. What is listed is a part of what we hold: more 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.

Rubies: questions buyers ask

What makes a ruby different from a red sapphire?

Nothing in chemistry; both are corundum. The trade reserves ruby for red corundum of sufficient saturation and calls lighter pinkish-red stones pink sapphire. Laboratories draw the line in slightly different places, so a borderline stone can be called ruby on one report and pink sapphire on another.

Are most rubies on the market heated?

Yes. Most rubies sold today have been heated to improve colour or clarity, and heating is accepted in the trade when disclosed. Byrex states treatment on every stone page exactly as the laboratory report words it, and unheated rubies are marked as such.

Which laboratory reports does Byrex supply with rubies?

Most Byrex rubies carry a GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, Lotus or GIA report, with AGL and CDC on some stones. The report states treatment and origin, and for GRS-reported stones the report is shown on the stone page. A second report can be arranged on request.

Is a Burma ruby always better than a Mozambique ruby?

No. Burma holds the premium for fine unheated stones, but the best Mozambique rubies now reach the same colour and the current auction record belongs to a Mozambique stone. Judge the ruby in front of you first, then let origin adjust the figure.

What is a glass-filled or composite ruby?

A low-grade ruby whose fractures and cavities have been filled with lead glass to make it look transparent. Laboratories disclose it, GRS codes it H(d), and it must be sold as treated. The filler is damaged by heat and acids, so it needs careful handling at the bench.

Does Byrex sell rubies to private clients?

Byrex Gems is a wholesaler to the jewellery trade, and private clients are welcome by appointment at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Private clients see the same stones and reports; pricing is shown to approved trade buyers who sign in.

Can I view rubies in person in Toronto?

Yes. Appointments at the Byrex office in Toronto let you compare rubies side by side under daylight and incandescent light and read the reports beside them. Every stone is also filmed unedited, so the video shows what will arrive.

Can Byrex source a ruby I cannot find on the site?

Yes. Much of the collection is not shown online, and what Byrex does not hold it can source through its offices and partners abroad. Send the size, colour, treatment and report requirements and the team will come back with options.

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