1.45cts Oval Pigeon's Blood Burmese Ruby Ring in 18ct Rose Gold

Director’s Notes

Rubies mined in Burma have long been held as the absolute ideal in terms of colour for a ruby, they are an exceptionally beautiful rich deep red with neither too much brown nor pink in it. The term ‘pigeon’s blood’ has historically been used to describe the most beautiful and coveted colour for rubies, allegedly due to its similarity in colour to the blood of a pigeon. Opinions differ as to the exact origin of the term with some saying it came from the Burmese, others that it was first used by the Chinese who had previously owned the area where the Burmese ruby mines were discovered and yet others sighting it as having Hindustani origins where lapidaries compared the colour to the blood red of a pigeon’s eye. Whatever the truth, one thing everyone agreed on is that only rubies of the finest vivid red colour with deep saturation and which showed a soft red fluorescence in daylight were referred to this way. Today rubies from both Burma and Mozambique can show this coveted colour and be certified as such.