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.

This small rounded crystal caught our attention when examining a ruby from Mong Hsu, Burma. Micro Raman analysis revealed that it is an apatite inclusion.
Mong Hsu rubies generally contain fluffy clouds of exsolved diaspore silk. While rutile silk is not common, it is seen on occasion, as evidenced by a cloud of rutile silk in a Mong Hsu ruby.
During flux healing, as the process continues, contraction bubbles form and then become larger as the void becomes more spherical. The degree of healing in flux-healed Mong Hsu rubies is so great that the flux remnants are often quite rounded, complete with contraction bubbles. Imagine a synthetic corundum crystal that has a long, thin hot-dog shaped gas bubble in it. If we heat that crystal to a high temperature, the hot dog will break up into a row of spherical bubbles, a process known as “necking down.” This image vividly illustrates the necking down of a void in a flux-healed Mong Hsu ruby.
Immersion in di-iodomethane unmasked this ruby as a clever beryllium-diffused stone, probably from Songea, Tanzania. Note the faint surface-conformal orange color rim.
This is certainly one of the most unusual inclusions we have ever encountered, a rhomb-shaped depression divit on a polished facet, seen on a ruby (probably from Songea, Tanzania) that had been lattice-diffusion treated with beryllium.
The lower luster of glass on the surface of this heated, fissure healed ruby, helps to separate the glass from the surrounding corundum, which has a higher luster.
Cottony diaspore silk in a rare, untreated ruby from Mong Hsu, Myanmar.
Delicate rosette-like accretion clouds surround small negative crystals in this Tajik ruby. The negative crystals can be identified by their precise alignment, where faces reflect light in exactly the same position.
Delicate rosette-like accretion clouds surround small negative crystals in this Tajik ruby. The negative crystals can be identified by their precise alignment, where faces reflect light in exactly the same position.
Fine rutile silk dust in a ruby from eastern Tajikistan.
Irregular shaped crystals with small black crystals embedded in them are a common and distinctive feature of rubies from eastern Tajikistan.
A crystal (probably a carbonate), along with fingerprints and polysynthetic twinning in Jegdalek ruby

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.

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