How to determine the price of a star ruby?
The value of Star rubies is basically influenced by two things: (a) The strength and sharpness of the star, (b) Intensity and attractiveness of body colour Cutting: Cutting is very important to exhibit the star effect in ruby. They need to be cut into medium to high, domed cabochons to get the perfect star effect. The cabochons must be round or oval-shaped. The stone should not be too flat on the top or too heavy on the bottom. Many a times, bottoms of star rubies are kept unpolished so that the light is trapped inside the gemstone. Colour: Generally rubies are red. But star ruby is usually not red. Most star rubies are available in pinkish-red, purplish-red or purplish-brown colour. The distribution of colour is often uneven, in stripes and spots. A red ruby with a perfect star is very rare and costly. As a general rule, pink star rubies have the best stars. Clarity: As mentioned earlier, due to the presence of rutile (silk) star rubies are never transparent. Most natural star rubies
