Burmese Ruby Inclusions

First Published: 7 September 2026

Burmese Ruby Inclusions

Explore Burmese ruby inclusions in Hyperion, the Lotus Gemology inclusion database. Hyperion contains photomicrographs of inclusions and internal features in natural rubies from Myanmar (Burma), documented with information on treatment, lighting conditions, field of view, photographer and published references.

The secret silken world of this untreated ruby from Burma’s Mogok Stone Tract is revealed with overhead lighting that reflects off of the undissolved rutile silk. The lack of breakdown proves that the gem has not been subjected to high-temperature heat treatment.
A natural fingerprint hovers above a blue color zone in this rare, untreated ruby from Mong Hsu, Myanmar.
A dense network of short rutiles is a characteristic feature of many rubies from Burma’s Mogok Stone Tract.
Knife-shaped rutile needles are a classic internal feature of unheated rubies from Myanmar’s Mogok Stone Tract.
Primary rutile crystals dance with transparent colorless partners in this ruby from Myanmar’s Mogok Stone Tract.
Primary rutile crystals dance with transparent colorless partners in this ruby from Myanmar’s Mogok Stone Tract.
Low iron rubies (and pink and padparadscha sapphires) from localities like Mogok, Mong Hsu (Myanmar) and Sri Lanka will often display chalky zones in shortwave ultraviolet. Here we see an excellent example in a heat-treated ruby from Mong Hsu. This fluorescence is positive proof of heat treatment.
This bubbly fingerprint in a Mong Hsu (Myanmar) ruby has been altered by heat-treatment with flux.
Rubies from Myanmar’s Mong Hsu region only rarely feature rutile silk. Instead, the silk-like exsolved particles are composed tiny particles of the mineral diaspore—α-AlO(OH). Diaspore gets its name from the Greek word “to scatter,” in allusion to its propensity to decrepitate (audibly pop) when heated. Diaspore silk is extremely heat sensitive and its alteration can help identify heat treatment.
Mong Hsu rubies are generally heat treated to remove the blue cores that darken their color. In addition, most contain open fissures that disfigure the gems. Treaters use fluxes like borax to heal the fissures with microscopic amounts of synthetic ruby, which recrystallizes in the cracks. This photo shows a flux-healed fissure, accompanied by a cottony cloud of diaspore silk.
Rubies from Myanmar’s Mong Hsu region only rarely feature rutile silk. Instead, the silk-like exsolved particles are composed tiny particles of the mineral diaspore—α-AlO(OH). Diaspore gets its name from the Greek word “to scatter,” in allusion to its propensity to decrepitate (audibly pop) when heated. Diaspore silk is extremely heat sensitive and its alteration can help identify heat treatment.

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Burmese ruby inclusions may include mineral crystals, rutile silk, healed fissures, fluid inclusions, negative crystals, growth features and other internal features formed during or after crystal growth. Such features are important to gemologists because they can provide evidence useful in identifying ruby and evaluating a possible Burmese origin.

Burmese Ruby Inclusion Photomicrographs

The Hyperion Burmese ruby gallery includes microscopic features documented in rubies from Myanmar (Burma). Each entry is accompanied by descriptive information and, where available, references to the gemological literature.

What Inclusions Can Reveal About Burmese Ruby

Inclusions are an important part of geographic origin determination in ruby. Their form, composition, orientation and associations can provide evidence that, when considered together with other gemological properties, may support or contradict a Burmese origin.

Hyperion combines inclusion photomicrography with supporting gemological information so that individual features can be compared with documented examples from Burmese rubies.

About Hyperion

Hyperion is the Lotus Gemology searchable inclusion database. It allows users to browse gemstone inclusions by gem type, geographic origin, treatment and keyword.