What you are actually paying for
Colour, then cut, then size — in that order.
A one carat ruby of fine colour will outprice a two carat stone of ordinary colour, often by several times. Ruby pricing rises steeply with quality rather than smoothly, which is why two stones of the same weight can differ enormously.
Size matters more with ruby than with most stones for a different reason: large clean rubies are genuinely rare. Above about three carats, fine material becomes scarce enough that prices climb sharply.
Heated and unheated
Most rubies have been heat-treated. It is permanent, stable and accepted throughout the trade, and a heated ruby is a perfectly good ruby.
Unheated stones of equivalent colour are considerably rarer, and the price reflects that. We carry both and label each one. What we do not carry is lead-glass filled material — a low-end treatment that fills fractures with glass and leaves a stone that is barely ruby at all.
Settings that suit ruby
Ruby's hardness gives you options that emerald does not. Claw settings work well because the stone can take the exposure and the extra light improves the colour. Bezels protect without being structurally necessary. Halos add presence and let a smaller centre stone read larger, which matters when fine ruby is priced by the carat.
Yellow gold warms the red and suits stones on the darker side. White metals sharpen the contrast and flatter brighter, more vivid reds. Rose gold sits somewhere between and works particularly well with lighter, pinkish stones.
Ruby and diamond
Most ruby rings pair the stone with diamonds, and there is a practical reason beyond appearance. Diamond and ruby are the two hardest gem materials in common use, so neither will scratch the other in the way a softer accent stone would over decades of contact.
Looking for something else?
Planning a proposal? See our ruby engagement rings.
Want to design around a particular stone? Browse our loose rubies.
See them in person
Ruby fluoresces under ultraviolet light, which daylight contains and most indoor lighting does not. That is why a ruby can look markedly more vivid outdoors, and why photographs rarely tell you what you are getting.
Before you buy: Everything You Need To Know Before Buying A Ruby Ring covers colour, size and setting. For what drives price, read What Makes a Ruby Valuable? Colour, Clarity, and Heat Treatment Explained.
We are at Shop 3, 82 King Street in the Perth CBD. Call 1300 551 562 to arrange a time.