Ruby Care and Cleaning Guide
Gem and mineral hardness is measured on the Mohs scale. The numbers are based on the relative ease or difficulty with which one mineral can be scratched by another. But the Mohs scale is deceptive. The steps between the minerals are not evenly spaced. For example, diamond is only one number away, but it’s much harder than gems in the corundum family.
Corundum (ruby and sapphire) is relatively hard—9 on the Mohs scale. It has excellent toughness and no cleavage, which is a tendency to break when struck. This makes it a great choice for rings and other mountings subject to daily wear.
Ruby ranks 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, so it’s an effective jewellery stone.
Stability
Corundum is stable under normal wearing conditions, which means it’s resistant to the effects of heat, light, and common chemicals. Boric acid powder will etch the surface of even untreated stones. Fracture-filled, cavity-filled and dyed stones can be damaged by even mild acids like lemon juice.
Cleaning
Warm soapy water is always safe. Ultrasonic and steam cleaners are usually safe for untreated, heat-treated and lattice diffusion treated stones. Fracture-filled, cavity-filled or dyed material should only be cleaned with a damp cloth.
Treatment and durability considerations
Untreated ruby and even heat-treated ruby are very durable. Stones that have undergone lattice diffusion treatment have varying degrees of treated-colour penetration. In some stones, the treated colour penetrates the entire stone, while others have very shallow treated-colour penetration. For stones with shallow colour penetration, surface damage or re-cutting can remove colour.
Today’s fracture-filled stones have surface-reaching fractures filled primarily with a high-lead-content glass. There are large numbers of these treated rubies in the market and they require greater care than untreated, heat-treated or lattice diffusion treated ruby. The glass can be damaged through contact with a variety of chemicals. Even relatively mild substances like lemon juice can cause changes in the high-lead-content glass.
