Absolutely! Rubies are outstanding stones for engagement rings.
That's because rubies boast romantic red colors and durability second only to diamonds. Plus, they were the traditional choice for engagement stones before the DeBeers company launched the "A Diamond is Forever" marketing campaign in the 1940s.
Here at Acredo, we know you're faced with endless options of engagement rings. So let's explore all the pros and cons of using ruby for a bridal set.
The Pros Of Rubies For Engagement Rings
Rubies Are Tough
Your beautiful bride will wear her engagement ring every day for decades. She'll wear it to work, shopping, while doing laundry and working out at the gym. You know ruby will stand up to that abuse with a hardness of 9 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. Eventually, she'll pass that ruby engagement ring down to another family member, and that stone will still look amazing.
Rubies Are Gorgeous
The romantic red color of a ruby is what sets it apart from other gems. Ruby is a corundum stone, and it's the most valuable of this family of gemstones. Only a red corundum is called a ruby. The other colors are sapphires — blue sapphire, yellow sapphire, pink sapphire and so on.
The Cons Of Rubies For Engagement Rings
High-Quality Rubies Are Rare (And Expensive)
High-quality, natural rubies are scarce. They can command extreme prices.
Social Concerns And Sustainability
Earth-mined rubies come to the surface with help from humanity.
- Most rubies are mined commercially using heavy equipment to dig hundreds of feet below the earth's surface.
- This process causes earth scarring, deforestation and creates emissions.
- Sometimes it requires a lot of clean water that local communities could use for agriculture instead.
Another more traditional way is called "artisanal" mining. One imagines a sole miner braving the jungle with his rock pick. But in truth, young people — even little children — spend their days digging in caves and sifting through dirt to find the precious stones rather than getting an education.
So many people feel earth-mined rubies are not environmentally friendly nor socially responsible.
At Acredo jewelers in Denver, we offer the perfect solution to your environmental and social concerns. We can create the ideal rubies, sapphires and diamonds for your engagement rings and bridal sets (and earrings to match!) Contact us today to learn more about our stunning ruby engagement rings.