Difference between natural unheated, heated, new glass filled ruby treatment?

The stunning Ruby or Manik gemstone is a highly sought after gem amongst gem lovers. This natural, blood red or deep pink colored gem is a member of the Corundum family and is classified as a precious gemstone. As per Vedic astrology, this gem can bring success and growth in career, self-confidence, name, fame, and vigor. 

Being ruled by the Sun, the Ruby gemstone gets inspiration from the Sun. Over the years, several celebrities have been seen wearing this amazing gemstone that is not only beautiful to look at but also carries a number of benefits with it. From helping the wearer to imbibe leadership qualities to inculcating the feelings of love, warmth, and passion, this gem does it all. As a matter of fact, many people believe that wearing ruby stone can increase the level of confidence in a person and improves their personality as well.

However, when it comes to buy ruby gemstone, there are a lot of variants that one can have in this day and age. From natural and unheated ruby to heated, new glass filled ruby and others; the selection is a wide one. 

So, how do you differentiate between these types of rubies? What are the parameters that govern them? Let’s find that out!

Natural Ruby gemstones that are unheated or untreated contain natural inclusions that can be seen through a microscope and through normal 10 times (10x) magnification loupe. The natural inclusions may include:

• Fine needle-like Silk (rutile) inclusions

• Angular, straight, color zoning and color banding

• Angular, straight or hexagonal growth zoning or banding

• Boehmite needles

• Intact two-phase inclusions

• Fingerprint inclusions

• Unaltered mineral inclusions

There is no denying that a wide collection of rubies that we get today are heat treated. From slightly heated to extremely heated, there are different levels of heat treatment that these gemstones go through, depending upon their type. Based on these treatments, the prices of these gems vary. By undergoing a heat treatment, a ruby gets better color clarity and intensity. This treatment also removes or reduces the inclusions that a ruby gem may contain.

Heated rubies may contain the following types of inclusions:

• Burned or altered mineral inclusions 

• Negative crystals

• Broken silk rutile needles

• Sintered surface areas

• Discoid fractures with tension halos

• Ruptured two-phase inclusions 

Another set of treatment that a ruby gemstone may go through include flux-healed treatment which is an extreme heat treatment. In this treatment, flux like material is induced in ruby which is then molten at very high temperatures. Once dissolved, this flux is then used to fill the fractures and cavities that are there in the gem and solidify it into a glass-like substance. 

This is the newest type of treated rubies that are available in the market these days. In this treatment, poor quality ruby gemstones are mixed with acid to remove mineralized inclusions. This makes these gemstones soft and weak. After this, these gemstones are then infused with leaded glass to get the much-needed strength. With this, these gemstones also get the good looks that are rubies are famous for.

But then again, these lead glass-filled rubies are not really rubies. These are more or less a mixture of natural corundum and lead-glass. In fact, most of these gems have more lead glass within them than the corundum mineral. Even then, they are sold as natural rubies in many parts of the world. 

This is the reason why care must be taken while buying precious gemstones like rubies. If you get a synthetic ruby under the disguise of a natural one, then you don’t just lose your hard earned money but also your trust on gem suppliers and your peace of mind.

Also, if you use these gemstones in jewelry, thinking them to be natural gemstones, then you may ruin the beauty as well as durability of your gemstone jewelry. 

So, now that you know the different varieties of ruby gemstones and understand the difference between unheated, heated, heated flux-healed and lead glass filled rubies, make sure you take a wise decision while buying ruby gemstones. 

Ask for authenticity certificates if you are buying a natural ruby that is absolutely untreated. Your chosen supplier must disclose any treatment that your preferred ruby stone may have undergone. 

That’s why you need to find a reliable and renowned supplier of ruby gemstones who doesn’t fool customers and sells gemstones after full disclosure of the procedures that they have gone through.

Report this Page