July Ruby — A Little Goes a Long Way

For us here in the Southern Hemisphere, July arrives just after the winter solstice and Matariki, the Māori New Year — a season of reflection and renewal. Meanwhile, those in the north are enjoying the long days of summer. Wherever you are, July marks the turning of another season.

July is also my birthstone month, and after years of avoiding rubies, I have finally fallen for them. Their intensity once felt almost intimidating. Unlike softer gemstones, ruby asks to be noticed. There is a confidence to its colour that I have come to appreciate with time.

Perhaps the secret is simply not to overdo it. A small flash of ruby against gold can be extraordinarily powerful. With ruby, a little goes a long way.

When Does a Pink Sapphire Become a Ruby?

Ruby is the red variety of corundum, the same mineral family as sapphire. The distinction between ruby and pink sapphire comes down largely to colour: once that colour becomes distinctly red, the gemstone is classified as ruby; lighter and more obviously pink stones remain pink sapphires.

The boundary isn't always perfectly clear, which has inspired an old jewellery trade joke: if you're selling it, it's a ruby; if you're buying it, it's a pink sapphire.

From Myanmar to Mozambique

Some of the world's most celebrated rubies come from Myanmar, formerly Burma. The legendary pigeon blood colour — an intensely saturated red — is among the rarest and most valuable expressions of ruby. Seeing a fine example in person makes its reputation immediately understandable.

Today, Mozambique is another important source of exceptional ruby. Its mines produce stones with remarkable depth and richness of colour, allowing even very small gemstones to carry that unmistakable flash of vivid red.

A Gemstone for Milestones

Rubies have never been inexpensive, and they are unlikely ever to be. Their combination of rarity, durability and extraordinary colour has kept them among the most treasured of all gemstones.

Traditionally associated with passion, wisdom and achievement, ruby feels particularly suited to life's defining moments. Forty years of marriage, a graduation, a personal achievement — it doesn't require a large stone to carry meaning.

Sometimes the smallest ruby is enough: a vivid point of red and a reminder of how far you have come.