"PATMARAJ" The KING of gems

"Patmaraj" the king of gems

     Since antiquity, red color represents love, desire, wealth and celebration. Red is the most outstanding  hue among the warm colors. Similarly, when a ruby is found among other gems, the hot red of ruby appears very dominant to our sight. This prominent red gem is praised by Hindu as “Patmaraj gem” or” Ratnaraj “, which in Sanskit means king of the gems. By tradition, in the ancient royal jewellery such as the princess ring, ruby is always set in the middle and surrounded by other gems. Ruby is the gem that is the most related to lore and history.

     Ruby is a variety of corundum (Al₂o₃): the mineral in trigonal crystal system of which the specific gravity is 4 and the hardness is 9 on the Mohs scale( second hardest material next to diamond ). The corundum family of gem consists of ruby, blue sapphire, green sapphire, yellow sapphire, pink sapphire, star ruby and multicolored star sapphire etc. The red of ruby is due to the Chromium (Cr) as trace element in corundum crystal structure. And Cr is also responsible for numerous cracks and fissures in ruby crystal. In general, most ruby crystals have inclusions and are fractured when compared to sapphire varieties. Rubies of good clarity to be cut as faceted gem are scarce and they are found mostly in small size that is less than 1 carat in weight. The majority of faceted gems are melee size between 0.20-0.50 carats. Imagine comparing the ruby pebbles with seeds of pomegranate as they look much alike both in dimension and color. A crystal of good clarity and color (to be faceted) that is bigger than one carat is rare. Hence, a faceted ruby that surpasses 3 carats is an exceptionally a rare phenomenon. It is much easier to hunt for a big sapphire than a big ruby, as sapphires of big size are more abundant.  When ruby is compared to blue sapphire of the same size and quality, certainly a ruby would command a much higher price. The rubies that are less transparent with few inclusions are usually cut as cabochon and variety that have heavy inclusions are sculptured for ornamental articles. In the trade, cabochon rubies are more plentiful than faceted rubies.

     Today, high-quality faceted rubies of big size are very scarce and their demand continues to grow. Consequently, big rubies of good quality are the most prized of all colored gems. Furthermore a ruby is considered as the only colored gem that is more expensive than diamond of the same size. During the auction in Geneva in the year 2014, Graff Ruby, a flawless pigeon-blood ruby of only 8.62 carats was sold at US$ 8,600,410(US$ 997,727 per carat). The auction is an indicator that reflects the popularity and demand of such a gem. According to the statistic of gem pricing, the price of ruby has remarkably increased in recent y years.

                                                                                                                  Credit: Lindie Lapin

     Due to the demand of this compelling red gem, no doubt, the cheap imitations and simulants are widely spread in jewellery and gem markets. As an alternative for lower price in natural gem, technique of enhancement the low-grade gem is well developed. These enhancements are: dying and diffusion (thin- layer surface coating) to improve color, fissure filling with high RI glass to improve clarity, doublet stone to make bigger size gem etc. Nowadays our technology allows even to synthesize corundum gems in the lab that have the counterpart of the natural one. All such techniques are intended to provide an alternative toward the more affordable price in the market.

     The famous sources of ruby are Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and certain African countries: Madagascar, Mozambique,Tanzania etc. Thai people are proud of” Thai Ruby” or “Siamese Ruby” that is famous in the world market. This Thai ruby is recognized as ruby of prominent clarity (less inclusion and less fissure or crack than ruby from any other source), well -even color (less mottled color zone), good color shade (various shade ranging from purplish red to bright red) and especially a high luster. Having all properties of high-grade faceted gems, when cut in to facets, its brilliance and expression of color is remarkable. The Thai Ruby is one of the world best faceted ruby ever known.

     During year 1981-1985, about 75% of the world ruby supply was the ruby exported from Thailand. I dare say that “Siamese Ruby “from Boh Rai district (Trad province) is the geographical indication of the region. Unfortunately, despite the repute that Siamese Ruby brings to the country, the rubies of best quality are mostly exported and are in possession of the foreigners. During the years of ruby rush, Thai who had purchasing power tended to collect diamond and invest in gold jewellery without paying much attention to these colored stones. Many close friends and my relatives informed me that when they perceived the price of a fine ruby, they would turn their attention to diamond instead. It is rather sad that they lacked the basic knowledge of gemology and overlooked the potential of the esteemed ruby in their own provenance.

   Since rubies from Boh Rai mine became exhausted and many new deposits were found in Africa, all mines in Trad province came to their end after the depletion of mineral. The only thing that rests is the memory and the lore of the ruby rush in Trad province. I reminisce the story of the Siamese Ruby to recall how Thai people of wealth in the past were oblivious to their folly and, at the same time, urge them to have more interests in colored stone that, once, brought repute and wealth to Thailand. The red corundum should be praised as “Patmaraj gem” or king of the gems forever. I hope that Thai people would pay more attention to colored gems. In other articles, I will talk about ruby from different sources. Thank you for reading our article.

                                                                                                             Siriwat Jiamanusorn   (FGA)