Ruby
Associated with bringing the wearer health and wealth, rubies are the birthstone of July and known for their blood red coloring.
Rubies are a variety of the mineral corundum which comes in an assortment of other colors, but those are classified as sapphires. Ruby measures 9 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, second only to diamond and matched with sapphires. This lends them to be excellent gemstones for jewelry and alternative engagement rings.
The most prized Rubies are from Burma, but rubies are mined all over the world including Afghanistan, Australia, Cambodia, India, Mozambique, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United States. Like their sister stone sapphires, Star Rubies occur when the needles formed deep within the stone can cause the star effect, known as asterism, most visible when the stone is cut into a cabochon. Rubies are a fiery staple of the gemstone world; and have been at the forefront of luxury and lore for centuries.