REAL VS FAKE RUBY (MANIK)
Nowadays, the demand for rubies is very high in the market, and people fail to recognize the difference between real and fake rubies. And when people don’t understand how to differentiate between real and fake rubies, it becomes easy for a few sellers to sell duplicate gems at real gem prices and make money out of them. You should know how to differentiate them, and for that reason, we are giving you some knowledge about natural vs. synthetic rubies.
Natural Ruby
Natural ruby, also known as Manik stone, forms beneath the earth’s surface under specific environmental and temperature conditions. Human involvement is limited to cutting and polishing, which gives the ruby its divinity, radiance, and vibrancy.
Synthetic Ruby
Synthetic ruby is made in a lab with the same chemical composition as natural ruby. It is made by melting aluminium oxide. The pulverization of the components, melting, and recrystallization in the same atmosphere and conditions as natural ruby are all part of the method. Since it is made from the same chemical composition as a natural one, the physical and chemical qualities of the ruby remain the same.
How to Differentiate
We will now discuss some tests, such as the ruby breath test, ruby light test, ruby scratch test, and ruby microscopic test, that can be used to determine the originality of a ruby.
1. Scratch Test
Ruby is among the hardest stones found on Earth. It is very hard to break them. Scratch it with a coin or any other hard surface, such as stone or hard metal. If you are able to do it, then it is certainly not a real one.
2. Microscopic Test
If you see a real ruby through a microscope, you will find little inclusions that are not visible to the naked eye. If you see fake rubies under a microscope, you will find them flawless. For this, hold your stone at a 45-degree angle in the light. Make sure you are able to see through it.
3. The Ruby Breath Test
The Ruby Breath Test is also known as the “fog test.” Since rubies are efficient heat conductors, this technique works best. Take a ruby in your hand and bring it close to your mouth by exhaling on it. If your ruby is real, it will evaporate within 2 seconds. mostly in a single second. If your ruby is fake, it will take 1 to 2 minutes, sometimes more than that.
4. Ruby Light Test
For the Ruby, Light Test Get yourself into the dark room. Then take a sharp white light and keep it pointed towards the ruby. Observe the color that comes out of the ruby. It is real if there is a red flash; otherwise, it is not. This happens because it has high iron content and is naturally derived.
5. Identification of Glass Filling
Glass-filled rubies are so popular in the market these days that there is hardly any visible difference between them and real rubies. But you can differentiate between natural and glass-filled rubies by trying the following tricks:
- If you look carefully, you can see small cracks in many places in a glass-filled ruby.
- In glass-filled rubies, you can see trapped gas bubbles along with the cracks.
- Glass-filled ruby has little transparency due to the glass filling, or, in other words, it has some haziness.
