Antique 18thC ½ct+ Burma Ruby 14kt Ancient Celtic Magic

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! Antique 18th Century Genuine Natural Good Quality Hand Crafted Ruby Round Precious Gemstones from Burma. Mounted into Contemporary High Quality Solid 14kt White Gold Studs. ORIGIN: Burma, 18th Century. SIZE : Diameter: 5mm. Depth: 2 1/2mm. Measurements approximate. WEIGHT : 1.26 carats. NOTES : If you prefer, upon request, other setting styles are available such as French hooks, lever backs, euro , as are solid 14kt yellow gold settings. DETAIL: � Rubies were amongst the earliest gemstones traded by mankind, since the 5th millennium B.C.� The Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Indo-Europeans (Celts) all believed that the “heat” evidenced by the intense, red color was fire from within the gemstone, capable of boiling water or melting wax.� From the most ancient times all the way through the medieval world, ruby was worn by the classical Mediterranean civilizations as an amulet for protection from lightening, plagues, poison, sorrow, and evil spirits.� � Here's a nice pair of good quality eighteenth century antique hand crafted ruby precious gemstones. These two gemstones originated in Burma, then were hand crafted by an eighteenth century Russian artisan, part of an heritage renown for the production of the elaborate gemstones and jewelry of the Czars of Medieval, Renaissance, and Victorian Russia. Originally used in indigenous jewelry, this is a very pretty pair of precious gemstones. They are mostly translucent, somewhat transparent, but fairly clean, and of higher value character as opposed to lower value completely opaque rubies. Of course most natural ruby gemstones are anywhere from lightly to heavily blemished, and most transparent “rubies” sold even by the largest and most reputable retailers in the United States are synthetic (read the fine print; and the same is true of emeralds and sapphires). While these particular specimens might not be anywhere near flawless, to casual scrutiny they are reasonably clean and without any dark inclusions or flaws which are noticeable with casual scrutiny. Of course at magnification (such as these 5x images here) it might be possible to discern a few small blemishes. Nonetheless, they possess the much sought after bright blood red color which has captivated mankind for eons and has made Burmese rubies so sought after. While these colorful precious gemstone are not completely transparent, they are definitely toward the higher end of the quality spectrum. � The gemstones have been mounted into high-quality, USA manufactured solid 14kt white gold studs (not eletroplated, not gold fill, solid 14kt white gold). Under magnification the gemstones show the unmistakable characteristics of having been hand crafted. However the coarseness of the eighteenth century finish is considered appealing to most gemstone collectors, and is not considered detrimental to the value of a gemstone. In fact most serious collectors consider such gemstones more desirable, possessed of greater character and uniqueness when compared to today's cookie-cutter mass-produced machine-tumbled gemstones. Unlike today's computer controlled machine produced gemstones, the cut and finish of a gemstone such as this is the legacy of an artisan who lived two centuries ago. These gemstones have great luster, hue, and body. To the eye they are reasonably clean, but they are not entirely flawless. True, the blemishes they possess are near invisible to the naked eye. But magnified 400% or 500%, as they are here, you can see slight blemishes within the gemstone and occasional irregularities in the cut and finish. Keep in mind that these characteristics are not only expected of hand-finished gemstones, you must also consider that two centuries ago the mining techniques even possible then, let alone in practice, did not allow the ultra deep mining operations which are so prevalent today. Two centuries ago mankind was more or less limite... read more

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