The Birthstone of July; Ruby

The birthstone of July is ruby. Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum, colored by the element chromium. Accordingly, the name “ruby” comes from Rubeus, the Latin word for red. In ancient times, ruby was used to fight some infectious diseases, encourage blood flow, and treat fevers.

The July birthstone used to be worn because its vibrant color, red, which was believed to resemble blood. Red runs through veins and holds power into your life just like the stone ruby.

Ruby is also believed to balance the heart, encourage passion, and helps to retain wealth. Ruby is one of the highest valued gemstones. Fun fact: large rubies can fetch higher prices than normally sized diamonds because of their rarity.

Ancient Hindus believed that by making an offering of a ruby to their God Krishna, rebirth as an emperor was assured. Burmese warriors believed that rubies would make them unstoppable and even inserted rubies under their skin for war purposes.

The most important sources for ruby include Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. The Mogok valley of Upper Burma is famous as the source for the finest and rarest rubies of all, known as “pigeon’s blood” for the stones because of its intense red color. Another major source of rubies is Thailand, well-known for dark, brownish-red rubies. Both Thailand and Burma regard the ruby as their national stone.