Natural Ruby Inclusions

Explore ruby inclusions in Hyperion, the Lotus Gemology inclusion database. Hyperion contains photomicrographs of inclusions and internal features in natural ruby, documented with information on geographic origin, treatment, lighting conditions, field of view, photographer and published references.

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.
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.
Undissolved rutile silk in the basal plane of this ruby from Montepuez, Mozambique, creates a lovely pattern.
Amphibole rods are a common guest in Montepuez (Mozambique) rubies and are unaffected by low-temperature heat treatment.
Amphibole rods are a common guest in Montepuez (Mozambique) rubies and are unaffected by low-temperature heat treatment.
This Mozambique ruby has been heat treated, causing an included crystal to melt. The resulting glass occupies less space than the previous crystal, resulting in a frozen gas bubble.
Lying just below the surface, this chalcopyrite crystal displays a brassy iridescence in this ruby from Mozambique’s Montepuez mines.
Amphibole rods are a common guest in Montepuez (Mozambique) rubies and are unaffected by low-temperature heat treatment.
Amphibole rods are a common guest in Montepuez (Mozambique) rubies and are unaffected by low-temperature heat treatment.
Winged mica crystal within a ruby from Montepuez, Mozambique. These inclusions are heat sensitive and often develop glassy tension fissures around them following heat treatment.
Winged mica crystal within a ruby from Montepuez, Mozambique. These inclusions are heat sensitive and often develop glassy tension fissures around them following heat treatment.
A dense network of short rutiles is a characteristic feature of many rubies from Burma’s Mogok Stone Tract.

Search the Complete Hyperion Database

Natural ruby inclusions may include mineral crystals, rutile silk, healed fissures, fluid inclusions, negative crystals, color zoning and other features formed during or after crystal growth. Such features are important to gemologists because they can provide evidence useful in identifying ruby, understanding its geological history, recognizing treatment and, in some cases, determining geographic origin.

Natural Ruby Inclusion Photomicrographs

The Hyperion natural ruby gallery includes microscopic features found in rubies from major deposits around the world. Each entry is accompanied by descriptive information and, where available, references to the gemological literature.

What Inclusions Can Reveal About Natural Ruby

Inclusions are an important part of ruby identification. Their form, composition, orientation and alteration can help gemologists distinguish natural ruby from synthetic material, recognize evidence of heat treatment, and study the geological environment in which the ruby formed.

Hyperion combines inclusion photomicrography with supporting gemological information so that individual features can be compared with documented examples from known ruby deposits.

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.