How old is Black Prince Rubin?

Ruby is a stone of special magical power. Dedicated to the main planet – the Sun, “king of stones”, as the ancients called it. And currently, the value of high-quality rubies is higher than similar-sized diamonds and emeralds. The oldest written reference to “ruby” or “ratnaraj” (the name in Sanskrit) dates back to Indian texts from 2300 BC. It was from these times that the stone gained its reputation as the “main gem”, a guarantor of the owner’s safety even when surrounded by enemies. In Burma, where rubies have been mined since that time, they firmly believed that the stone should be sewn under the skin, and then, becoming part of the flesh, it would create a protective dome for the owner from swords, spears and bullets. The stone was also known in Europe; its mention can be found in the Bible. The Greeks called it “anthrax”, the Romans called it “carbunculus”, and later “yachontom” (18th century AD), as other colored corundums were also called. In Ancient Rus’, the mineral was also called “yakhont,” as was sapphire, dividing them by color: “worm-like” (red) for ruby, and azure for its blue brother, corundum. The modern term “ruby” – red corundum and its shades (bright and dark red, violet-red) – was introduced by the Swedish mineralogist Valerius in the mid-XNUMXth century. Rubies are ideal gemstones, especially given their beautiful coloring and high hardness. The color red has always symbolized fire, love and blood, and was extremely popular both among high society people and in the spiritual world. Rubies adorn almost all royal and imperial regalia around the world. The highest recorded price for a 1-carat ruby ​​is over $100. Star rubies, like sapphires, are the most valuable and rare natural specimens. The legendary ring with this stone (“Asterix”) belonged to King Solomon. The saying “everything passes – this too will pass“, carved on the ring, is still quoted today. Uncut stones have a dull and greasy shine, while processed stones sparkle like diamonds. And the cut for them is most often diamond, for less transparent ones – cabochon. Without special equipment and analysis, a ruby ​​can easily be confused with a softer and less valuable spinel. An experienced professional can distinguish between the two minerals by color, silkiness, or using a refractometer. This separation of minerals became possible only from the 19th century during the development of geology. Until this time, spinel, along with ruby, was used in the design of royal regalia and other jewelry. Large rubies are found in nature much less frequently than diamonds, so for every 300 diamonds weighing about two hundred carats (40 grams), there are only a few of the same rubies. This uniqueness, as a consequence, leads to many mysterious and dark stories associated with known large examples of rubies. Some of them have not been revealed to this day.

Famous stories about rubies and famous stones

• The “Ruby of the Black Prince” replaced the equally famous sapphire on the crown of English monarchs during the reign of Henry V. The significance of this ruby ​​was so high that it was placed in the center of the main cross of the imperial crown. The basis for this was a historical fact. At the Battle of Agincourt, this ruby ​​was on the wearer’s helmet, protecting him from enemy attacks and leading him to victory. And so, in this battle, the enemy’s sword fell on the helmet, but neither the stone nor its owner were harmed. Moreover, Henry won this battle. Subsequently, however, it turned out that the “black prince” was a spinel, but this did not prevent him from remaining in a leading place in the history of England and the State Imperial Regalia.
• “Ruby of Timur”, it is known for certain that the first owner of this stone was Tamerlane himself. After his death, the stone itself “traversed” a fascinating historical path. At first, it passed from one treasury to another, from one ruler to another, until in 1629 it was placed in the Peacock Throne, made at the behest of Shah Jehan, the ruler of India. The throne was a masterpiece of jewelry art: made in the shape of a peacock’s tail and inlaid with precious stones of the highest category. Being a real treasure, because of which many wars lasting 200 years subsequently unfolded, the throne, along with the ruby, again passed from ruler to ruler until the middle of the 19th century. After the appearance of the English colonialists and the capture of the East Indies, all the treasures were taken out and sent to the metropolis. And the throne itself was sent to England by a separate ship, the Grouswinner, which crashed somewhere off the coast of East Africa; the exact coordinates of the ship and the throne that sank with it are still unknown. “Ruby of Timur”, along with other jewelry, arrived safely in England and was presented to Queen Victoria. There it remains to this day in the treasury of Buckingham Palace. In recent years, it has been revealed that the “Timur ruby”, like the “black prince”, is a ruby ​​spinel.
• “Raja Ratna” (“King of Gems”) is recognized as the largest ruby ​​ever found. Its weight is about 2,5 thousand carats (almost half a kilogram). For a long time, the stone remained unknown in the world and was inherited by the Indian lawyer J. Vijaya Raja. Most notably, the Raja Ranta is uncut and is nothing other than an asterix, the rarest type of ruby.
• A unique and sad story is associated with the rubies that adorned the Indian Buddha statue. In the mid-19th century, the German swindler Hans Hermann stole several dozen large stones from the statue, killing the temple servant. Subsequently, the stones were sold at an incredible price to the rulers of Austria-Hungary, the Habsburg family. But the rubies did not bring happiness to either the seller, who was killed by the avengers, or the buyers trying to separate the stones. In the end, as a result of the uprising, the owner of the rubies was killed, and it was decided to return the stones themselves to their rightful owners. And in 1911, the stones were sent by the Meraida steamship, but due to heavy fog there was a collision with a warship, and the Meraida with rubies valued at 25 million US dollars sank to the bottom. To date, numerous attempts to retrieve a safe with unique treasures from the bottom have not been successful.
• An interesting story of our time. In December 2011, the jewelry collection of the famous diva Elizabeth Taylor was put up for sale. An 8,24-carat ruby ​​ring sold for $4,2 million, the highest price per carat for a ruby, breaking the previous world record.
• Other unique stones: “Edwards ruby” (167 carats), “De Longa” star ruby ​​from Myanmar (100 carats), “Rosser Reeves” – a unique cherry-colored star ruby ​​(almost 137 carats), recognized as the most beautiful rubies from Burma in the world weighing 77 and 150 carats.

It would take a very long time to list the rubies that are included in the treasuries of the world’s palaces and museums. They adorn not only significant imperial regalia, but also many amazing pieces of jewelry that belonged to Scythian, Greek, Persian, Roman, Indian rulers, kings and heirs of the ruling dynasties of Europe and Russia.

Ruby mining continues to this day. The most significant deposits are still located in India, followed by Burma, Thailand, Kenya, Afghanistan and Vietnam. There are deposits in Pakistan, Tajikistan, the Pamirs, Laos, Nepal, and the Urals. However, the amount of mined minerals is steadily decreasing.

The popularity of rubies, and at the same time, the natural rarity of high-quality material plus the development of technology have led to widespread refinement of the material and artificial reproduction.

The value of the stone and the thirst for profit, however, overshadowed the first successes in obtaining artificial rubies. When in 1892 Auguste Vernel (a French scientist) managed to obtain the first samples of ruby, the employees of his laboratory, blinded not only by scientific success, quickly found a way to enrich themselves. Cut artificial stones began to be secretly distributed throughout the countries of the East or exchanged for natural gems. Since not everyone could technically distinguish a counterfeit in a faceted form at that time, the markets of Europe and the Middle East were very quickly filled with artificial substitutes for rubies. The price of stones began to fall rapidly.

Nowadays artificial rubies are used in the watch industry, electronics, astronomy and optics. They are also used in jewelry due to the depletion of natural deposits: modern technologies make it possible to expand the production of artificial rubies, reducing costs.

Technologies for refining natural stones are often used. For this purpose, calcination is used to a temperature of 1300 to 1800 degrees Celsius, due to which foreign inclusions are destroyed and the color purity and transparency of the stone is improved. Another method is processing with lead glass, during which cracks and pores are filled, transparency is improved, allowing the use of low-grade raw materials in jewelry production.

Magical and healing properties

Definitely, like its brother sapphire, ruby ​​is an unusual stone for extraordinary people. Ruby is a symbol of power, valor and power. Its main property is to generate an attraction to the great and the desire to be so. This stone is ambiguous. It endows a good person with even greater good, but in a wicked person it enhances the natural cruelty, releasing the inner Devil.

As a talisman, ruby ​​strengthens the movement towards achieving goals and strengthens the will. It “gives its owner the strength of a lion, the fearlessness of an eagle and the wisdom of a snake.” Of course, the larger the crystal, the stronger its influence. Refined and artificial rubies have such properties to a lesser extent. But any rubies, largely due to their color, can ignite passion, because they are a symbol of love and fire, protecting against heart wounds and false friends.

It has been used in folk medicine since ancient times. In ancient India they were used to treat epilepsy, paralysis, and depression. In Europe, ruby ​​powder was added to water; this drink was used for stomach illness. Ruby water (water infused with the stone) is also believed to help with high blood pressure, heart and blood diseases. The stone is recommended to be applied to sore spots for diseases of the joints and spine.

It should be remembered that the stone helps people with pure thoughts and an open heart, which it will feed with energy and prolong life.

Determining the authenticity of a ruby

Due to the presence of a large number of artificial stones on the market, it is important to know how to determine the authenticity of a stone:

• If you place a ruby ​​in a glass container, a red light will emit from it. And if you put it in a glass of cow’s milk, it will take on a pink tint.
• Ruby has birefringence of color: from one angle its color is dark red, and pale when looking at the same stone from the other side.
• The crack in a real ruby ​​does not shine, it has a zigzag shape, while in an artificial analogue it is straight, clearly visible and shining.
• In artificial stones, round open bubbles are often found, white or empty.
• If you place a real stone on your eyelid, the ruby ​​will remain cooler due to its molecular structure. The glass will heat up quickly.
• If you place a ruby ​​under an ultraviolet lamp, the fake one will turn orange, but the real one will retain its color.

The cost of precious stones and metals used to make this jewelry. If you choose other stones, or the jewelry is of a different size, this figure will change.

Production time 18 – 25 days
Change the design to suit your taste
High-jewelry quality
Manufacturing from your materials
Add to favorites Hint about a gift

Product Information

• Features
• Inserts
• Description

Metal weight
Type of center stone
Amethyst 1 pc.
Natural ruby
Mele (quantity and carat)
Ruby 10 pcs. 0.013 Ct (1.5 mm), total weight 0.13 Ct

The mysterious history of this jewelry inspired our client to create his own, unique ring. A black diamond, a symbol of firmness and fidelity – like no other stone, can symbolize the image of Edward (Edward) Plantagenet, the Prince who did not ascend the throne, but spent his whole life in the war for the interests of Britain. For a long time, signets have informed others about the special status of the owner, noble origin and the right to own/manage. Namely, this shape of the ring is inextricably associated with Knightly Nobility, Honor and Loyalty. The time of wax seals has passed, but these qualities will be in demand thousands of years from now. Rings – symbols – do not allow you to forget about them and help strengthen them. Our client is sure of this, and also ordered this signet as a gift for his son. With Amethyst – a stone according to the Zodiac (Libra) and Rubies – a stone of health and success. Now this is a very interesting story that develops over generations.

Customization

This product model is made individually taking into account the customer’s wishes. This page shows the cost and characteristics of the model shown in the photo.

• Make changes to the design of the model (describe in your request what you would like to change)
• Add or remove stones in the selected model

Yellow gold 585 and 750

White gold 585 and 750

Red gold 585 and 750

Warranties and Service

All jewelry made in our studio has a lifetime guarantee, and we also provide free service once every 1 months: cleaning and polishing of jewelry.

Jewelry testing
Each product has a hallmark and is checked by the State Assay Inspectorate.

Certified gemstones
The authenticity of gemstones is confirmed by GRS certificates, and diamonds by GIA certificates.

Shipping and payment

01. Pickup from our office in Moscow
02. Courier service
SPSR-EXPRESS throughout Russia
03. Courier service in Moscow and St. Petersburg
04. Worldwide

Cash payment, Cashless payment, Online payment Visa, MasterCard, Mir, UnionPay, Yandex.Money, Payment upon receipt.

After placing an order at the UvelirMoscow jewelry studio, an invoice for payment is generated. Prepayment for the order is 30-50% (depending on materials) of the total cost of the order. The remaining amount is paid upon receipt of the order.