Bright Red Wonders: Alternatives To Rubies

If you want crystal jewellery and your favourite colour is red, you might think that ruby is the only option, or at least the best one. But many alternatives offer red colouration, which means you have more choice than you might imagine.

There is, of course, a lot to be said for rubies. Yes, they are costlier than most other gemstones. Still, their precious nature is not just down to scarcity or their rich, deep red colour, their status as July’s birthstone, or even their naturally occurring hexagonal shape.

Like sapphires, rubies are a form of corundum, with elements of chromium providing the red colour, which can vary from dark purple to orange and pink. At a certain point (on which experts can’t always agree), this becomes light enough to be classed as a pink sapphire. However, rubies are much rarer than sapphires.

Like sapphires, however, rubies are very valuable largely because of their hardness on the Mohs scale, with Corundum measuring a nine, the highest level short of the 10 represented by diamonds and comparing favourably with emeralds, which measure between 7 and 8.

All this makes rubies an attractive choice, but what if you wanted to go for something not as costly, but still red? What alternatives are there?

The Gem Society lists no fewer than 23 different red gemstones. Naturally, their qualities and characteristics vary, with some more suited to use in jewellery such as rings or necklaces than others. Even so, it may come as a surprise that there are this many.

Among them is the red spinel. You might not have heard of this, but you will almost certainly have seen it, on TV if not in the flesh, because there is one of the British crown, although, misleadingly, it is known as the Black Prince’s Ruby.

The fact that it can pass for a ruby is reassuring, however, as is the fact that it is far less expensive, even though it has a prominent position in the most important item of headwear in the land.

Rubellite is another option. It’s actually a red form of tourmaline, which can come in many colours, but it is also the October birthstone so that it will have a particular appeal for those born in the tenth month. Those born under the Zodiac sign of Virgo may similarly be attracted to Carnelian, which is an alternative birthstone for this time.

Garnet may be a slightly more familiar gem and is the birthstone for January. It is usually more of a reddish-brown, but can be found in different shades of red.

Among other gems that come in various colours including red are Jasper (an alternative to amethysts as a February birthstone), Topaz (the November birthstone), Beryl, Zircon and Opals, the latter being known as ‘fire opals’ in the red case.

It is even possible to find red diamonds, though, of course, these are extremely rare and therefore even costlier than rubies.

What all this does show is that there are many alternatives to rubies. Not all are as blemish-free, as transparent (as opposed to translucent) or nearly as hard. But it does show that if you are looking for red there are many options, not least for those keen on finding their month’s birthstone.