July
July Birthstone: Ruby, the Yaqoot جولائی
In short: July's birthstone is ruby, or Yaqoot: red corundum that rates 9 on the Mohs scale, beaten only by diamond. Colour drives value more than anything else, so a small stone with a vivid, glowing red usually outranks a big, dull one. Most rubies on the market are heated, and a fair seller always says so.
July's stone is ruby, Yaqoot in Urdu. It is red corundum, 9 on the Mohs scale, with only diamond harder. When you are choosing one, colour matters more than size: a small ruby with a vivid, glowing red is usually worth more than a large, dull one. Most rubies are heated, and a straight seller tells you so.
- Month
- July
- Birthstone
- Ruby
- Urdu name
- Yaqoot
- Colours
- Pinkish red to deep red
- Mohs hardness
- 9
- Usual treatment
- Heating (disclosed)
On the tray today
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Written by Sameer
Reviewed on
Traditional belief vs gemmology: anything on this page about luck, protection, planets, healing or religious tradition describes traditional and cultural beliefs — not proven effects, religious rulings or medical advice. A stone's identity, hardness, treatment and origin are gemmology, which a lab can test; the references at the end of the page cover that side.
A stone with a long history here
Few gems have been loved in the subcontinent as long as ruby. Its Sanskrit name, ratnaraj, translates as king of gems. Tradition links it with passion and courage, and Vedic astrology gives it to the Sun (Surya). Closer to home, the Hunza valley in Pakistan is known for rubies that grow inside white marble.
Reading a ruby
- The red itself. Pure red, or red with a slight purple touch, is what people pay most for. Brownish or very pink rubies sit lower.
- The glow. Good rubies look lit from inside in daylight. If a stone looks dark and shut-down indoors, it is the weaker stone.
- Inclusions. Fine needles, called silk, are normal and actually help show the ruby is natural. Big cracks are a different matter.
- Treatment. Heat treatment is routine and permanent. Glass filling is another thing altogether and should be described, and priced, as such.
See our ruby listings. If you want a deeper, darker red for less, look at garnet; for an opaque red with its own tradition, try red coral (Marjan).
What fakes look like
- Glass-filled ruby is all over the markets. With a loupe, check inside the cracks for flashes of blue or orange and for flattened bubbles in the filler.
- Red glass gives itself away with round bubbles and soft, worn facet edges.
- Lab-grown ruby often looks too clean and too bright for what is being asked. Curved growth lines under magnification are the tell.
- Garnet or red spinel passed off as ruby can only be separated properly by a lab. You are welcome to have any stone from us independently tested.
More on this: reading a ruby and ruby explained.
Care
An untreated or heated ruby is tough and simple to clean: lukewarm soapy water and a soft brush. Keep it apart from softer stones, since it will scratch them. A glass-filled ruby is fragile by comparison, so no ultrasonic cleaners, no heat and no chemicals. Our July birthstone checklist goes further.
Ruby as a July gift
Red is the bridal colour in Pakistan, which makes ruby a natural pick for a bride's ring or a mooh dikhai gift. For a July birthday, even a small ruby with strong colour is a present that lasts. And a ruby set in gold has long been an Eid gift for a husband or a father.
References
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