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Ruby Beads

Ruby Beads

Ruby beads are corundum colored red by chromium, and bead-grade ruby runs from pink-red to a deep purplish red. Most strands are natural ruby in faceted rounds and rondelles from 2mm to 8mm, beside a hand-cut line of irregular rondelles and nuggets that is dyed and marked as such. Heat is the standard treatment; each strand states natural, heated or dyed. At Mohs 9, second only to diamond, ruby is one of the most durable beads for jewelry making, and it pairs with sapphire, garnet and spinel.

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Products: 40

This is a Dakota Stones 8x12mm Ruby Sapphire Tube Gemstone strand with A grade rough beads in 15-16 inch strand.
This is a Dakota Stones 8x12mm Ruby Sapphire Tube Gemstone strand with A grade rough beads in 15-16 inch strand.

Ruby and Sapphire 8x12mm Rough Tube A Grade - 15-16 Inch

$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
$81.00
$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00

$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
$81.00
$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
This is a Dakota Stones 8-11mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with A grade rough nugget beads in 15-16 inch strand.
This is a Dakota Stones 8-11mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with A grade rough nugget beads in 15-16 inch strand.

Ruby and Sapphire 8-11mm Rough Nugget A Grade - 15-16 Inch

$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
$81.00
$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00

$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
$81.00
$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
This is a Dakota Stones 6-8mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with A grade rough nugget beads in 15-16 inch strand.
This is a Dakota Stones 6-8mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with A grade rough nugget beads in 15-16 inch strand.

Ruby and Sapphire 6-8mm Rough Nugget A Grade - 15-16 Inch

$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
$81.00
$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00

$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
$81.00
$81.00 - $81.00
$81.00
This is a Dakota Stones 8mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with A grade faceted round beads in 15-16 inch strand.
This is a Dakota Stones 8mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with A grade faceted round beads in 15-16 inch strand.

Ruby and Sapphire 8mm Faceted Round A Grade - 15-16 Inch

$80.00 - $80.00
$80.00
$80.00
$80.00 - $80.00
$80.00

Ruby has long been considered one of the most beautiful and valuable gemstones on the planet. It is also one of the hardest, second only to Diamond...

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$80.00 - $80.00
$80.00
$80.00
$80.00 - $80.00
$80.00
This is a Dakota Stones 4mm Ruby Sapphire Banded Gemstone strand with A grade faceted round beads in 15-16 inch strand.
This is a Dakota Stones 4mm Ruby Sapphire Banded Gemstone strand with A grade faceted round beads in 15-16 inch strand.

Ruby and Sapphire 4mm Round Faceted A Grade Banded - 15-16 Inch

$39.00 - $39.00
$39.00
$39.00
$39.00 - $39.00
$39.00

Ruby has long been considered one of the most beautiful and valuable gemstones on the planet. It is also one of the hardest, second only to Diamond...

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$39.00 - $39.00
$39.00
$39.00
$39.00 - $39.00
$39.00
This is a Dakota Stones 9-10mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with natural round beads in 15-16 inch strand.
This is a Dakota Stones 9-10mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with natural round beads in 15-16 inch strand.

Ruby and Sapphire Natural 9-10mm Round - 15-16 Inch

$99.00 - $99.00
$99.00
$99.00
$99.00 - $99.00
$99.00

Ruby has long been considered one of the most beautiful and valuable gemstones on the planet. It is also one of the hardest, second only to Diamond...

View full details
$99.00 - $99.00
$99.00
$99.00
$99.00 - $99.00
$99.00
This is a Dakota Stones 8mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with natural round beads in 15-16 inch strand.
This is a Dakota Stones 8mm Ruby Sapphire Gemstone strand with natural round beads in 15-16 inch strand.

Ruby and Sapphire Natural 8mm Round - 15-16 Inch

$79.00 - $79.00
$79.00
$79.00
$79.00 - $79.00
$79.00

Ruby has long been considered one of the most beautiful and valuable gemstones on the planet. It is also one of the hardest, second only to Diamond...

View full details
$79.00 - $79.00
$79.00
$79.00
$79.00 - $79.00
$79.00
Ruby color: pink-red to deep red

Ruby color: pink-red to deep red

Ruby is red corundum, and the red comes from chromium: more chromium, deeper red, while iron pulls the color toward purple or brown. Bead-grade ruby is opaque to translucent, and a strand runs from pink-red through raspberry to a deep purplish red, the low-iron Sri Lanka material at the bright pink end and the African material at the deep end. Under a longwave UV lamp, natural ruby glows red from its chromium; glass and dyed quartz imitations do not.
Kinds of ruby: Sri Lanka, African, banded, and the ruby and sapphire mixes

Kinds of ruby: Sri Lanka, African, banded, and the ruby and sapphire mixes

Sri Lanka ruby comes as small AA-grade faceted rounds and rondelles in a bright pink-red. African ruby is deeper and more saturated, and it makes up the natural faceted rondelles, the graduated strands and the carved ovals. Banded ruby shows the corundum's color zoning, red and purple in stripes, and the ruby and sapphire mixes string red and blue corundum on one strand. Heat is the standard treatment for ruby; every strand is marked natural, heated or dyed, and the dyed ones are the hand-cut irregular rondelles and nuggets.
Ruby sizes and cuts: 2mm to 8mm, faceted rounds and rondelles

Ruby sizes and cuts: 2mm to 8mm, faceted rounds and rondelles

At Mohs 9, ruby is second only to diamond in hardness, and natural and heated ruby take ultrasonic and steam cleaning; dyed strands get mild soap and water. The 2mm, 3mm and 4mm faceted rounds and the 2x3mm to 4x6mm rondelles are the sizes most designs are built on, as accents, spacers and multi-strand work; 6mm and 8mm rounds, bicones, tyres, cubes and coins carry a piece on their own, and the graduated rondelles and carved ovals run to 16mm. Ruby pairs with sapphire, garnet and spinel, and with gold.

About this stone

Color
RedPink-RedPurplish-Red
Origin
Burma/MyanmarMozambiqueMadagascarThailandIndiaSri Lanka
Mohs hardness
9
Treatment categories
HeatedNatural/Unheated
Industry-standard treatment
Heat treatment
Mineral chemistry
Aluminum oxide (corundum) colored by chromium
Crystal system
Trigonal
Stone family
Corundum
Birthstone
July
Common cuts
Faceted RondelleRoundSmoothMicrofaceted Round
Common sizes
2mm3mm4mm6mm
Care notes
Extremely durable. Natural and heated ruby tolerate ultrasonic and steam cleaning; dyed strands take mild soap and warm water. Store apart from softer stones.
Related stones
Sapphire, Spinel, Garnet

Frequently asked questions

  • Where does the ruby come from?
    Each strand states its origin where the cutter names it: Sri Lanka by name, and Africa where the cutter names the continent rather than the mine. Ruby's main sources are Mozambique, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma and India; the African and Sri Lankan material is what reaches the bead trade in volume. Sri Lankan ruby runs lighter and brighter, pink-red to raspberry; African ruby runs deeper and more saturated.
  • Are the dyed ruby strands real ruby?
    Yes. The dyed line is corundum, hand-cut in India into irregular faceted rondelles and nuggets on 7-inch to 16-inch strands. Dye evens out the color of lower-grade rough; it is stable in normal wear, and it is stated in every title. Dyed strands are cleaned with mild soap and water and kept out of ultrasonic cleaners; natural and heated ruby tolerate both.
  • Why is bead-grade ruby priced below gem-grade ruby?
    Bead-grade ruby is a different category from gem-grade ruby. The transparent, eye-clean ruby cut for fine jewelry is a far rarer material than the opaque-to-translucent rough cut for bead strands. Bead-grade ruby puts corundum into calibrated 2mm to 8mm sizes at per-strand prices that work in production. The two are different products that share a mineral, not one a discount on the other.
  • What is the difference between Burmese and Mozambique ruby?
    Burmese (Mogok) ruby is marble-hosted and low in iron, and shows the classic pigeon's blood red with a slight bluish undertone and a strong red glow under UV light. Mozambique (Montepuez) ruby is amphibole-hosted and higher in iron; it tends to a deeper, saturated red, sometimes with a purple or pink undertone, and glows less. Burmese carries the historical-source story and the color register; Mozambique offers comparable material in broader supply.
  • How is real ruby told from imitations?
    Weight (ruby is dense; plastic and resin feel light), hardness (Mohs 9, a steel pin will not scratch it), color under different light (ruby holds its color in daylight and incandescent light; some imitations shift), a red glow under longwave UV from the chromium, and the price floor (a ruby strand priced like glass beads usually is glass). Every strand here states its treatment: natural, heated or dyed.