103 g Ruby Lot Afghanistan – Pale pink

Two rubies from the Sar-e-Sang region in Afghanistan's Badakhshan illustrate the color range of corundum from two perspectives. The larger crystal sits in white calcite marble and displays a delicate pink with a slight violet tinge. Its surfaces are smooth and clearly defined, the form is distinctly geometric, with the hexagonal outline typical for corundum. The smaller crystal glows in deep blood- to wine-red. Its surfaces are smaller, speckled and irregularly distributed, embedded in a marble matrix yellow-brown from iron oxides. The different depth of color is due to the chromium content in the crystal lattice. Even small amounts of chromium tint corundum pink, and the higher the proportion, the richer the red. Ruby in marble forms when impure limestone recrystallizes under high pressure and high temperature. Corundum can form only where there is little silica; otherwise the aluminum would bind into silicates. Under long-wave UV light the ruby fluoresces intensely red-orange, triggered by the same chromium that gives it its color. The marble matrix responds blue-white. Thus the pair combines into a strikingly contrasted collectible duo, demonstrating how differently the same mineral can appear. Material: Ruby (Corundum) on Calcite Marble Origin: Sar-e-Sang region, Badakhshan, Afghanistan Matrix: White calcite marble, locally iron oxide-tinted Ruby 1: Dimensions 6.5 x 5.1 x 2.9 cm, weight 99 g Ruby 2: Dimensions 2.2 x 1.7 x 1.1 cm, weight 4.14 g / 20.69 ct Special features: Piece 1 with a delicate pink-violet, smooth-faced, geometrically formed crystal; Piece 2 with blood- to wine-red crystal and smaller, more irregular faces; under UV light the ruby fluoresces red-orange, the marble matrix blue

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