There is a lot of controversy over this material.  Let me clear up a few things.

First and foremost.  It needs to be disclosed! This is an enhanced product that involves fracture filling to various degrees, sometimes significant enough to fill large voids. Be absolutely certain your client knows what they are buying.

This material started out as reject Ruby rough that was too fractured or included to facet, cab or even bead.  Ruby dealers ended up with stockpiles of this junk Ruby that they didn’t know what to do with.  Many times it was literally thrown in the garbage. When a process was developed that would allow this material to become useable via this aggressive fracture filling technique the decades of junk Ruby stockpiles flooded the market. The prices were crazy low because there was no value applied to the rough.  Now you’ll notice the prices have gone up to a more realistic level mostly because the stockpiles are gone and the source material is limited by mine production.

We are lucky to have this low cost semi natural alternative for Ruby.  Lab created Ruby is beautiful and is a great option, but the glass filled alternative gives you a very natural look because most of the content is natural Ruby. It has the natural color, inclusions and silkiness of a natural gem.

You’ll notice I said “semi-natural” in the above paragraph.  That is the truth. This material must be considered a “composite” or “manufactured” gem. There is only a percentage of natural Ruby in every glass filled gem.  Previous generations of “filled” Rubies had extremely low glass content.  That is not always the case any longer.  You must be aware and honestly disclose to your customers that this material will vary widely from stone to stone in glass content and it could be significant. Look closely at the gems you offer and recognize that the size and quantity of air bubbles directly relates to the level of glass content. At Optima Gem, we try to sort, price and grade considering this factor.

Finally, be very careful when you set or clean this material. It will not stand up to the type of treatment you might consider for a natural Ruby or Sapphire. Be very careful with heating, cooling, grinding and cleaning.  It is noticeably vulnerable to aggressive cleaning techniques.