Ruby / Thailand

― About Thai Rubies

　

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Thai rubies were most actively mined from the 1960s to the 1990s, but commercial mining has largely ceased since the 2000s, and the mines are now said to be closed.

 

The mining regions in eastern Thailand, which once supported the global ruby market, are no longer a source from which new supplies can be expected.

 

The Thai rubies currently in circulation are rough stones mined in the past, or old stock and recycled items produced during that era, and are stones that will steadily decrease in number over time.

 

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✴︎ At the Bo Rai mine site

 

Around the beginning of 2024, I visited the site of the Bo Rai mine, a major ruby producing area in eastern Thailand.

 

What I found there was the stillness of land that had already served its purpose.

 

Facing the historical documents preserved in the mine museum and the large puddles remaining on the surface, I had the opportunity to keenly feel the reality that no new rubies would be born from this place.

 

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✴︎ The unique color tone of Thai rubies

 

Thai rubies are not stones that can be described by a single color of red.

 

Many of them have a purplish base color, which forms the distinctive appearance of Thai rubies.

 

The red is created by the overlapping of deep colors: red and purple.

 

We believe this deep, nuanced color is the greatest appeal of Thai rubies.

 

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✴︎ Conditions for establishing a truly "Thai" color

 

Thai rubies, formed in a geological environment of basaltic origin, tend to contain purplish or brownish tones within their red.

 

Generally, the image of Thai rubies described as "beef blood" refers to those with deep color and less redness.

 

Among these, high-quality crystals with a good balance of red and purple and no sense of darkness are extremely limited in both quantity and quality.

 

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✴︎ Another rarity

 

Rubies are minerals with very strict crystallization conditions among gemstones.

 

They are easily affected by internal stress and growth processes, and even if the color is established, not many crystals remain that are robust enough for cutting.

 

Thai rubies, in particular, are known for many specimens having limited crystal thickness.

 

Because the crystals tend to spread thinly, even if the color is beautifully established, rough stones that can be cut into well-proportioned gems are limited.

 

Furthermore, regardless of origin, due to the high value of ruby itself, it is often finished with priority given to weight, making rubies with beautifully proportioned cuts very rare.

 

Thai rubies, a limited number of precious stones from a closed mine.

 

 

Treating the stone with care and bringing out its maximum beauty through refined cutting.

 

Please enjoy the Thai rubies that only GemTreeJapan, with its expertise in corundum, can offer.