Ruby

The name ruby come from the Latin ruber, meaning "red". In Sanskrit, ruby is known as ratnaraj. "king of precious stone". Many rubies are heat treated to improve their clarity or colour (or both). Rubies tend to be small (stones more than 10 carats are unusual) as the presence of chromium has an inhibiting effect on crystal growth- hence the high value of large rubies. Ruby crystals tend to be hexagonal prisms with tapering or flat ends.





THE DE LONG RUBY

One of the world's great star rubies, the 100.3-carat De Long Star Ruby was discovered in Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1930s. On 29 October 1964, it was stolen, along with a number of other famous stones, in an audacious burglary, later termed the "Great jewel Robbery", inspired by a similar robbery seen in a film by three thieves. Two of them lowered themselves into the museum through an open window, and literally raked the stones out of their display cases. After making an easy getaway, their careless boasting soon let to their arrest, and most of the stones were recovered. The De Long Star Ruby had already passed into other hands, and after extensive negotiations, the payment of a ransom of $25,000 led to its return. Today, security at the museum considerably improved.