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.
Amphibole rods are a common guest in Montepuez (Mozambique) rubies and are unaffected by low-temperature heat treatment.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1355-1
Lying just below the surface, this chalcopyrite crystal displays a brassy iridescence in this ruby from Mozambique’s Montepuez mines.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Light Field + Oblique Fiber Optic
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1295-1
Amphibole rods are a common guest in Montepuez (Mozambique) rubies and are unaffected by low-temperature heat treatment.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Transmitted
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1303-2
Amphibole rods are a common guest in Montepuez (Mozambique) rubies and are unaffected by low-temperature heat treatment.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1303-1
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.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1284-2
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.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1284-1
Undamaged rutile silk in a ruby from Mozambique’s Montepuez region.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Overhead
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1193-1
Iridescence on a chalcopyrite crystal as it floats within the interior of a ruby from Mozambique’s Montepuez region.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Diffuse Overhead
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1085-2
Iridescence on a chalcopyrite crystal as it floats within the interior of a ruby from Mozambique’s Montepuez region.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Oblique
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-1085-1
A lovely rosette surrounding a mica crystal decorates the interior of this ruby from Montepuez, Mozambique.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Diffuse Overhead
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-0875-2
A lovely rosette surrounding a mica crystal decorates the interior of this ruby from Montepuez, Mozambique.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
None Detected (None) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Diffuse Overhead
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-0875-1
A large glass-filled cavity on the surface of this heated ruby from Mozambique. Lower-grade ruby from Mozambique is sometimes treated by both flux healing and glass infilling.
Natural Ruby •
Mozambique •
Enhancements:
Heat + Fissure Healing (H-FH) •
Lighting Conditions:
Fiber Optic: Diffuse Overhead
Photographer:
E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number:
A-001-0836-1
Hughes, R.W. (1984) Repaired surfaces found on rubies. Jewellery News Asia, No. 6, pp. 1, 33; RWHL*.
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.
