Treated Ruby Inclusions
Explore treated ruby inclusions in Hyperion, the Lotus Gemology inclusion database. Hyperion contains photomicrographs of inclusions and internal features in natural rubies that have undergone treatment, documented with information on geographic origin, treatment, lighting conditions, field of view, photographer and published references.
This fingerprint in a heat-treated ruby from the Thai/Cambodian border displays the underlying atomic symmetry by the pattern of healing. The healed areas are hexagonal in shape, showing that the fingerprint lies in the basal plane.
Natural Ruby •
Thailand/Cambodia •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
Wimon Manorotkul •
Image Number:
R-001-2631-2
Roedder, E. (1962) Ancient fluids in crystals. Scientific American, Vol. 207, pp. 38–47; RWHL*.
This fingerprint in a heat-treated ruby from the Thai/Cambodian border displays the underlying atomic symmetry by the pattern of healing. The healed areas are hexagonal in shape, showing that the fingerprint lies in the basal plane.
Natural Ruby •
Thailand/Cambodia •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
Wimon Manorotkul •
Image Number:
R-001-2631-1
Roedder, E. (1962) Ancient fluids in crystals. Scientific American, Vol. 207, pp. 38–47; RWHL*.
A frosty melted crystal in a ruby from the Thai-Cambodian border.
Natural Ruby •
Thailand/Cambodia •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2588-3
Hughes, R.W. (1997) Ruby & Sapphire. Boulder, CO, RWH Publishing, 512 pp.; RWHL*.
Melted crystal and heat-altered fingerprints within a ruby from the Thai/Cambodian border.
Natural Ruby •
Thailand/Cambodia •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2588-2
Hughes, R.W. (1997) Ruby & Sapphire. Boulder, CO, RWH Publishing, 512 pp.; RWHL*.
Frozen gas bubbles inside melted crystals within a ruby from the Thai/Cambodian border.
Natural Ruby •
Thailand/Cambodia •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Transmitted
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2588-1
Hughes, R.W. (1997) Ruby & Sapphire. Boulder, CO, RWH Publishing, 512 pp.; RWHL*.
Flattened gas bubbles and faint flashes of color are seen in glass-filled fissures within this heavily treated ruby.
Natural Ruby •
None •
Enhancements:
Lead Glass-type Hybrid (LGH); Heat + Fissure Healing (H-FH) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Transmitted
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2471-2
Flashes of color in glass-filled fissures betray the treated nature of this ruby.
Natural Ruby •
None •
Enhancements:
Lead Glass-type Hybrid (LGH); Heat + Fissure Healing (H-FH) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2471-1
Mozambique rubies contain mixed silk, where part is rutile and part is another mineral. When heated, the non-rutile portion may show breakdown in the form of mottling or bubbles, as seen here.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Diffuse Overhead
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2392-2
Surface conformal orange color rim resulting from beryllium diffusion, seen while immersed in di-iodomethane.
Natural Ruby •
Tanzania; Songea •
Enhancements:
Heat + Diffusion of external coloring agents (H-D) •
Lighting Conditions:
Diffuse Light Field (Transmitted Light)
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-2297-1
A melted crystal of what was probably mica with a trapped gas bubble reveals this Mozambique ruby has been subjected to heat treatment.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Transmitted
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1839-1
This Mozambique ruby was heated after it was cut and not repolished, leaving evidence of the treatment on is surfaces.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Diffuse Overhead
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1747-1
After this ruby grew, it was exposed to high pressure, causing certain planes of atoms to glide into a twinned position. This secondary “polysynthetic” twinning takes place along the rhombohedron faces and is common in many corundums. Twin planes cross at 86.1 and 93.9° angles.
Natural Ruby •
Thailand/Cambodia •
Enhancements:
Heat (H) •
Lighting Conditions:
Diffuse Light Field + Crossed Polars
Photographer:
Richard W. Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1440-3
Gübelin, E.J. (1973) Internal World of Gemstones. Zürich, ABC Verlag, reprinted 1983, 234 pp.; RWHL*.
Hughes, R.W. (1997) Ruby & Sapphire. Boulder, CO, RWH Publishing, 512 pp.; RWHL*.
Search the Complete Hyperion Database
Treatment can alter existing inclusions and produce new microscopic features in ruby. These may include changes to mineral inclusions, altered rutile silk, tension fractures, healed fissures, residues and other features associated with heating, fissure healing, glass filling and other treatment processes.
Treated Ruby Inclusion Photomicrographs
The Hyperion treated ruby gallery includes microscopic features documented in natural rubies subjected to treatment. Each entry identifies the recorded treatment and is accompanied by descriptive information and, where available, references to the gemological literature.
What Inclusions Can Reveal About Ruby Treatment
Microscopic examination is an important part of detecting treatment in ruby. The appearance and alteration of inclusions, fractures and growth features can provide evidence of treatment and, in some cases, information about the processes to which a ruby has been subjected.
Hyperion combines inclusion photomicrography with supporting gemological information so that treatment-related features can be compared with documented examples in natural ruby.
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.
