How To Check Ruby Quality

Rubies are one of the most valuable and sought-after gemstones in the world, prized for their brilliant red hues, rarity, and hardness. Whether you’re a jeweler, collector, or just someone who appreciates the beauty of gemstones, knowing how to check the quality of a ruby is crucial. In this guide, we’ll provide you with a step-by-step process to evaluate ruby quality as well as some tips on using Ruby programming language for this purpose.

Physical Evaluation of a Ruby

Color

The most important aspect of a ruby is its color. The highest quality rubies have a deep, vibrant red hue with a slight hint of blue. Rubies that are too dark or too light are generally considered lower quality. To assess the color of a ruby, examine it under natural daylight or a white LED light source.

Clarity

Clarity refers to the presence of inclusions, or tiny imperfections, within the gemstone. While it’s rare to find a completely flawless ruby, high-quality rubies have few visible inclusions that do not detract from their overall appearance. Observe the ruby under a 10x magnifying loupe to evaluate its clarity.

Cut and Shape

A well-cut ruby will showcase its color, clarity, and carat weight to the best effect, while also maintaining optimal symmetry and proportions. Evaluate the ruby’s cut and shape by observing its overall appearance, facets, and light reflections.

Carat Weight

Carat weight is an important factor in determining a ruby’s value, as larger, high-quality rubies are rarer and more valuable than smaller ones. Keep in mind, however, that a larger ruby with poor color, clarity, or cut will be worth less than a smaller, higher quality gem.

Using Ruby Programming Language to Check Ruby Quality

While the physical evaluation of a ruby is essential, using the Ruby programming language can be a helpful tool for collectors, gemologists, and jewelers to document and analyze their gemstones’ properties. For example, you can create a RubyGem to store the information about a ruby and use various methods to perform calculations or comparisons. Here’s a simple example of how you might create a class for a ruby gemstone:

class RubyGem
  attr_accessor :color, :clarity, :cut, :carat_weight

  def initialize(color, clarity, cut, carat_weight)
    @color = color
    @clarity = clarity
    @cut = cut
    @carat_weight = carat_weight
  end

  def description
    "This ruby has a #{color} color, #{clarity} clarity, #{cut} cut, and weighs #{carat_weight} carats."
  end
end

my_ruby = RubyGem.new("deep red", "eye-clean", "excellent", 2.5)
puts my_ruby.description

In this example, we create a RubyGem class with attributes for color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. The initialize method sets the values for these attributes when a new object is created. The description method returns a string describing the ruby’s properties. Finally, we create a new RubyGem object and output its description.

Conclusion

Checking the quality of a ruby is a critical skill for anyone interested in gemstones. By examining a ruby’s color, clarity, cut, and carat weight, you can determine its overall quality and value. Additionally, you can use the Ruby programming language to create tools that help you document and analyze ruby properties, further enhancing your gemstone expertise.