GEOLOGICAL INFO COLLECTION OF MYANMAR RUBY by Myo Aung Ex- Exploration Geologist-08-06-2016

http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/from-the-field-
posts/ruby-land-the-gems-and-geology-of-myanmar-s-
mogok-stone-tract/
Ruby Land: The Gems and Geology of Myanmar's Mogok
Stone Tract
by AMNH on 08/11/2014 03:42 pm
FROM THE FIELD POSTS
Mogok, an historic city in northern Myanmar (Burma), lies in a valley 50 miles west of
the snaking Irrawaddy River, about 3,500 feet above sea level. The shrub- and flower-
covered hills rising above are dotted with small towns, villages, and garden plots, and
adorned with well-tended Buddhist shrines. The spires of these gold-leaf-covered
pagodas reach skyward, like gilded sculptures arising from rock-outcroppings along not
just the area’s one major highway but also its dirt roads and walking paths.
Buddhist Myanmar is dotted with shrines and gold-leaf-covered pagodas, like these at Kyauk-
Pyat-That monastery, rising from the rocks.
Image Credit: J.Newman
Mogok is best known for its gemstones, including ruby, sapphire, spinel, peridot, and
moonstone. For centuries, the Mogok Stone Tract’s hills were legendary for such
amazing abundance that locals were said to come upon gems just glinting in the grass
in their gardens. The area is still world-famous for gems: A sign along the highway
reads “Welcome to Ruby Land,” as about 1,000 working mines and diggings are found
there today; most of the world’s finest gem rubies come from Myanmar, most of these
from Mogok.

These women use bamboo baskets to concentrate gems, like gold miners panning for gold,
from the outwash of a gem processing plant.
Image Credit: J. Newman
“Geologically, Mogok is an unusual place,” says Curator George Harlow,
who specializes in minerals and gems. Dr. Harlow has visited the country’s mineral-
rich regions three times since his first trip in 1997-8—a trip that the not-prone-to-
hyperbole curator described as “a jaw-dropping experience. I don’t know anyother place
on the entire planet that has such a diverse suite of minerals.”
Harlow is one of the lucky few to have traveled to Myanmar over the last few decades,
however. Until 2011, the country was ruled by a military junta, and travel was greatly
restricted, even for researchers. Since a government transition, a series of political
reforms in this Buddhist nation of about 56 million people is gradually opening its
borders to scientists, businesspeople, and even more so to tourists, in some places.

In November 2013, a group of Museum geologists finally got a long-awaited opportunity:
to travel to Mogok to study the complex geological evolution of “Ruby Land.” Why was it
that the region was so rich in gem-quality minerals, which are, by definition, rare?
Harlow was joined by Curator James Webster, who studies magma processes, and
Senior Scientific Assistant Jamie Newman, on a Constantine S. Niarchos expedition
supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
During the trip, mineralogist George Harlow and geologist James Webster (right) collected more
than 200 pounds of specimens, making notes at every collecting stop.
Unlike other mineral resources, gemstones do not generally form in large ore deposits.
Instead, the deposits are usually small and found only in certain geologic environments.
The Mogok Stone Tract is unique because it contains several very different
environments, offering one clue as to why the region is so gem-rich.
These sources include igneous (formed from magma) intrusions called pegmatites that
can form large gem pockets inside other rocks. Magmas reacted with preexisting rock
(which researchers call country rock) to form sapphire, moonstone, and certain rare
gemstones. Metamorphism by heat, pressure, and passing fluid transformed limestone
to marble and created Mogok rubies and spinels, a related red gem, during mountain-
building as long ago as 200 million years. Weathering of all these rocks created river
and cavern concentrations of gems, historically the richest deposits of all.
Sapphires in the Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems
AMNH/D.Finnin
Another explanation for the presence of certain gems in Mogok, says Dr. Webster,
could be the ancient circulation of extremely hot watery fluids through Earth’s crust,
which might have helped minerals dissolve and re-form in veins or at contacts between

different types of rock. “It’s really about hot water,” says Webster. “At one time, it must
have dissolved certain things out of the rock—changing minerals to other minerals.”
One hypothesis is that a portion of the Mogok deposits of the mineral corundum—a very
hard mineral, second only to diamond, known to us in its red form as ruby and in many
other colors as sapphire—formed in this way about 15 to 25 million years ago.
Read more about the expedition here.
This story is adapted from an article in the Summer 2014 issue of Rotunda, the
Member magazine.
Tags: From the Field, Geology
http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/from-the-field-posts/ruby-land-a-museum-expedition-to-
mogok
Ruby Land: A Museum Expedition to Mogok
by AMNH on 08/14/2014 04:30 pm
FROM THE FIELD POSTS
In November 2013 a group of Museum scientists including Curators James
Webster and George Harlow and Senior Scientific Assistant Jamie Newman traveled
to Mogok, a historic city in northern Myanmar (Burma), to study the region's complex
geological evolution on a Constantine S. Niarchos Expedition supported by the Stavros
Niarchos Foundation. Read the first part of this story here.
In Myanmar, Museum scientists worked with Dr. Kyaw Thu, a Burmese geologist,
mineralogist, and gem dealer who helped arrange visits to 19 mines over 9 days in
Mogok. Traveling by jeep or by foot from their home base at the Golden Butterfly Hotel,
the geologists concentrated on collecting—not rubies, since these cannot be imported
from Myanmar to the United States due to an embargo, but other gems and rocks to be
analyzed back at the Museum.
Museum Curators George Harlow (left) and James Webster (right) with Dr. Kyaw Thu (center)
overlook the gem-rich Mogok Valley.

Most of the mines in the region are large, employing hundreds of workers and using
mechanized earth-moving equipment and high-pressure hoses to blast apart the
sediments from open pits. Others are more basic, but at each spot the rocks
researchers collected around the mines were clues—sometimes heavy ones—to the
larger context of the geology that created the gems.
One day, for instance, they visited the Pandaw pegmatite mine. Setting off from the
hotel, the team walked downhill for an hour or so on a path used for walking or, for
intrepid miners, motorcycles, with birds calling in the distance through the foliage. At the
bottom of the hill they finally came to a small mine, a pegmatite pocket—barely big
enough for a person to wiggle into—that was mostly hand-dug.
Most of the 1,000 working mines in Mogok are industrial, but some are accessible only by remote
paths.

Accompanied by miners, Harlow and Webster crawled into the mine and collected rock
samples. To add to their yield, the mine owner offered them a variety of mineral and
rock samples as well. Then, with full rucksacks weighing perhaps 50 pounds, the
researchers slowly walked back up the track to reach their vehicle, a trek that took more
than an hour. “For some reason,” says Webster, dryly, “the mines always seemed to be
at the bottom of the hill.”
Geologists are used to hauling their specimens: they collect rocks on expeditions all the
time. But being allowed to do so in Mogok, Myanmar, remains for Westerners a special
privilege. By the end of their three-week trip, the Museum team had collected 121
kilograms (266 pounds) of rocks for studying the context of this mineral-rich area. Using
X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and other
techniques back in New York, the team hopes to be able to tease out answers to
Mogok’s mineralogy.
Harlow, Webster, and colleagues investigate the geology of Mogok.
For instance, Harlow is working to understand how the mineral peridot—the gem form of
forsterite, the common form of the mineral olivine—formed in Mogok, and whether these
exquisite green gems were formed via similar processes to other known peridot
deposits.
Perhaps the most important part of the trip happened not in the field, however, but in
Myanmar’s universities and geological societies. There, the Museum team met and
exchanged ideas with Burmese researchers who have been limited in their international
collaborations and hampered in their access to modern scientific equipment. During
their visit, the team met local scientists and gave presentations in Yangon and at the
geology department of the University of Mandalay.

“Helping our colleagues in Myanmar and developing collaborations should be beneificial
to them, the Museum, and Myanmar as well,” says Harlow. He and Webster hope that
young scientists from Myanmar will be able to travel to the Museum in the not-too-
distant future to train with researchers in the Department of Earth and Planetary
Sciences, and that Museum postdocs will have opportunities to travel to Myanmar for
field work—in Ruby Land and beyond.
This Constantine S. Niarchos Expedition was generously supported by the Stavros
Niarchos Foundation.
This story is adapted from an article in the Summer 2014 issue of Rotunda, the
Member magazine.
Tags: From the Field, Geology
http://www.lotusgemology.com/index.php/library/articles/159-rock-talk-a-mogok-geology-primer
Mogok Geology Primer • Rock Talk • Lotus Gemology
by Wilawan Atichat & Richard W. Hughes
A look at the geology of Myanmar's Mogok Stone Tract, home to pigeon's blood
rubies and so much more…
The Mogok Stone Tract is situated in Myanmar’s Mandalay province, some 200
km northeast of Mandalay. Home to the world’s premier ruby mines, it is also one
of the richest mineral concentrations on Earth. Aside from ruby, Mogok produces

a potpourri of gems, including sapphire, spinel, peridot, topaz and moonstone, to
name but a few. One of Mogok’s gems, painite, is found nowhere else on the
planet. With over fifty different gem species mined at Mogok, in terms of
gemological diversity, perhaps only Sri Lanka can compare.
Bend me, stretch me…
During certain periods in the Earth’s history, tectonic activity produced large-
scale deformation of the surface. This stress resulted in fantastic zones of
mineral formation, where mundane minerals mutated into artistic wonders of
singular beauty. Geologists call this rock recycling process “metamorphism” and
the resulting bow-shaped regions “orogenic” belts. Most of the world’s greatest
ruby and sapphire mines fall into one of two such zones.
The Pan-African orogeny (Figure 1) occurred 750–450 million years ago, and
gave rise to deposits in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sri Lanka
and southern India. Many of these corundums are genetically related.

Figure 1. The former supercontinent, Gondwana, showing the proximity of the important ruby and
sapphire deposits of East Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and southern India some 750–500 million
years ago. From Hughes et al., 2014.
In contrast, the Himalayan orogeny took place just 45–5 million years ago, a
result of the Indian subcontinent speeding north from Gondwana and colliding

with the Asian plate (Figure 2). In geologic terms, this was a continental train
wreck as India dove some 2000 km under and into Central Asia. This resulted in
not just the greatest mountains on the planet, but furious mineral-forming activity,
including a string of ruby and sapphire deposits that stretch all the way from
Afghanistan and Tajikistan in Central Asia, through Pakistan, northern India,
Nepal and Myanmar, to China and Vietnam in the East. Together with the Pan-
African orogeny, these two events are responsible for virtually all of the finest
rubies and sapphires thus far discovered on Planet Earth.

Figure 2. South and Central Asia, showing the major faults associated with the collision between the
Indian subcontinent and the Eurasian mainland. One of the results was the formation of ruby, as
limestone metamorphosed into marble, creating the world’s premier ruby deposits. From West to
East: Jegdalek (Afghanistan), Kukurt (Tajikistan), Hunza and Nangimali (Pakistan), Chumar (Nepal),
Mogok and Mong Hsu (Burma), Yuanjiang (China) and Luc Yen (Vietnam). The Himalayan orogeny
took place during the period between 45–5 million years ago, making these rubies more than ten
times younger than their Mozambique belt cousins. From Hughes et al., 2014.
While marble-hosted ruby deposits have been studied in some detail elsewhere
(Garnier et al., 2008), political instability has left Myanmar’s mines as somewhat
of an enigma.
All across the Himalayan belt, ruby is found in marble. According to Harlow and
Bender (2013):
The present model for the formation of rubies hosted in marble from the
Himalayan arc is a closed-system metamorphism of former clays from
evaporitic/organic-rich shale units in margin basins. Mogok has still not
been fully included in this model. Involvement of igneous intrusions and the
formation of skarn with the marble has been an outstanding topic.
In plain English, an ocean (the Tethys Sea) once separated the Indian
subcontinent from Asia. Oceans are typically filled with sea creatures whose
skeletons are rich in calcium and carbon. As fish and coral die, those bones end
up in sediments on the sea’s floor, eventually forming a sedimentary rock we call
limestone.
When the Indian subcontinent slammed into Asia, this former seafloor was raised
up, in places so high that bits of it can be found even on the summit of Mount
Everest. Extreme pressures from this collision caused recrystallization of the
limestone into a metamorphic rock called marble.
So now we understand how the marble formed, but where did the ruby come
from? Ruby consists of aluminum (Al) joined to oxygen (Al2O3), with a dash of
chromium (Cr3+). Neither aluminum nor chromium is normally present in
limestone. It is thought that these elements entered the marble system when
clays metamorphosed into shale at margin basins. This alteration of an otherwise
pure rock by hydrothermal solutions is termed “metasomatism” and is thought to
be the mechanism by which aluminum and chromium (and vanadium) entered
the marble (Figure 3).
Marbles come in two flavors. Some are simply made of calcite – CaCO3, while
others are composed of dolomite – CaMg(CO3)2. When Al and Cr join together

with magnesium (Mg), the result is spinel. Only when the Mg is exhausted does
ruby grow. This explains why far more red spinels than rubies are found at
Mogok.
Figure 3. Ruby miners preparing to set an explosive charge in the marble at Sagyin, just north of
Mandalay. Note the clay band cutting through the marble. Hydrothermal fluids from this clay are
thought to have supplied the aluminum and chromium necessary for the growth of ruby and spinel in
marble. Photo: E. Billie Hughes

Figure 4. Ruby is not the only gem found in marble at Mogok. Spectacular red spinels are even more
common. Some of these octahedral crystals are so perfect that they are termed nat-twe (angel
polished). The photo shows a completely natural spinel crystal mounted in a ring, along with a
natural spinel octahedron in the marble mother rock. Specimens courtesy of Dr. Saw Naung U
family; Photo: Wimon Manorotkul
Skarn
But what’s the skarn mentioned above? In the current sense, skarn refers to a
rock formed by metasomatism, where an igneous rock (such as a granite) comes
in contact with a carbonate (such as a marble). And herein lies the uncertainty.
The accepted geologic model for formation of ruby in marble cannot explain
certain ruby specimens that have been found in the Mogok area that show

evidence of having formed in a skarn. Thus much more work remains to be done
before the occurrence of ruby at Mogok is fully understood.
Karst topography
One of the first things a visitor notices upon entering the Mogok region is the
presence of eerie black rock pinnacles rising from the surrounding valleys and
hills. That black rock is weathered marble and the weathering process in the area
has produced something geologists call a “karst topography.” China’s Guilin
region is perhaps the most famous example of this. It is produced by mildly acidic
water dissolving the weakly soluble limestone/marble.
Breaking open one of those black rocks at Mogok will reveal a bright white
marble within (and if the gods are smiling, a ruby or spinel). Mogok’s marble is
extremely coarse-grained, meaning the individual calcite and dolomite crystals
within the rock body are quite large, testimony to an exceedingly slow
crystallization process. When a crystal grows slowly, it grows larger and with
greater perfection, one of the clues as to why we find so many fine gems in the
Mogok area.
Among the benefits of the processes that produce karst topography is that those
same acidic waters also free the gems in the marble. Mogok is riddled with caves
and narrow underground passages as millions of years of weathering have eaten
away the weak places in the marble. Those gems settle in the cave bottoms; the
Burmese term these places lu-dwin, and they are home to some of the richest
concentrations of ruby and spinel.

Figure 5. The karst topography of the Mogok area is on display at Kyauk-Pyat-That, where a temple
sits atop weathered marble like a fairyland castle. Photo: R.W. Hughes
Geologic Jigsaw Puzzle
Geologically, the Mogok Stone Tract lies in what geologists call the Mogok
metamorphic belt, a 40 km-wide swath stretching from Moulmein in the south to
Putao, some 1450 km to the north. This belt contains a variety of andalusite and

sillimanite-bearing metamorphic rocks, pre-collisional granites and granodiorites,
and post-collision garnet + tourmaline-bearing leucogranites (Searleet al., 2007).

Figure 6. Map of Myanmar showing the location of Mogok and the Mogok Belt. Map: Richard W.
Hughes
Via phlogopite inclusions, the Mogok marble emplacement has been dated at
approximately 18.7 million years (Garnier et al., 2006). In the Mogok area there
are also schist and quartz veins cutting across the marble units.
Another important rock type is the so-called Mogok gneiss, which is composed
mainly of sillimanite-garnet gneiss, in which is found patches of calc-silicate rock.
Ultramafic rocks found in Mogok include dunite and harzburgite, both featuring
chromite. Pegmatite veins and graphic granite dykes cut into these ultramafic
rocks (Mitchell et al., 2007).
Intrusive igneous rocks in Mogok are predominantly nepheline syenite. Dating
granite in the Mogok area by 40Ar/39Ar in biotite gave an emplacement age of 15.8
million years. Dating metamorphic rock using biotite revealed the age of 19.5–
16.5 million years. The U-Pb dating using inclusions of zircon in ruby revealed
the age to be 32–31 million years old (cited in Yui et al., 2008).
Exploration and petrogenesis studies suggest that corundum deposits in this
area involve high-grade metamorphism at temperatures of about 600–650° C,
with pressures of approximately 4.5 kbar (Barley et al., 2003).
Correlation studies between the metamorphic and igneous rocks reveal that
there were two metamorphic processes, namely Early Jurassic regional
metamorphism and Early Tertiary metamorphism. These high-grade
metamorphic processes likely occurred during the collision of Indian and
Eurasian plates at 65–55 million year ago. This was later followed by igneous
intrusions (primarily syenite and leucogranite) during the period of 35–23 million
years ago (Maung Thein, 1973; Barley et al., 2003).
Both primary and secondary deposits are mined in the Mogok area. Ruby and
sapphire in such primary deposits are mainly hosted in white marble intercalated
with other metasediments of the Mogok metamorphic belt. The corundum-
bearing marbles are always in contact with either mica-rich granite gneiss or
calc-silicate rocks.
In Mogok, certain localities produce only ruby or only sapphire, but others host
both ruby and sapphire. One example of the latter is Baw Mar, where mine owner
Tint Lwin told us that both ruby and sapphire are found. During our explorations
at Baw Mar in July 2013, we found no evidence of the existence of both ruby and

sapphire within the same marble bed. Hence, it is clear that detailed research
work is required to unravel this mystery (GIT, 2013a, b).
By now it should be clear that the geology of the Mogok area is extremely
complex, with formation processes including metamorphism, igneous intrusion
and skarn reactions. Such processes have produced ruby-bearing marbles,
sapphire-bearing pegmatites, nepheline syenites, and a host of other rocks. It’s
almost as if Mother Nature took all of her leftovers and dumped them into this
remote region of Myanmar. The result is a spectacular gem assemblage, unique
on Planet Earth.
References
 Barley, M.E., Pickard, A.L. et al. (2003) Jurassic to Miocene magmatism and
metamorphism in the Mogok metamorphic belt and the India-Eurasia collision
in Myanmar. Tectonics, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 4-1–4-11.
 Garnier, V., Maluski, H. et al. (2006) Ar–Ar and U–Pb ages of marble-hosted
ruby deposits from central and southeast Asia.Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 509–532.
 Garnier, V., Giuliani, G. et al. (2008) Marble-hosted ruby deposits from
Central and Southeast Asia: Towards a new genetic model.Ore Geology
Reviews, Vol. 34, No. 1–2, pp. 169–191.
 GIT (2013a) GIT Exploring Ruby and Sapphire Deposits of the Mogok Stone
Tract, Myanmar. Bangkok, Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (Public
Organization), git.or.th, 6 pp.
 GIT (2013b) The Study Project on Potential and Accessibility to Sources of
Raw Gem Materials in ASEAN Countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,
Vietnam) (In Thai), Bangkok, Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (Public
Organization), 176 pp.
 Harlow, G.E. and Bender, W. (2013) A study of ruby (corundum) compositions
from the Mogok Belt, Myanmar: Searching for chemical fingerprints. American
Mineralogist, Vol. 98, pp. 1120–1132.
 Hughes, R.W., Manorotkul, W. et al. (2014) Ruby & Sapphire: A Collector's
Guide. Bangkok, Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand, 384 pp.

 Maung Thein (1973) A preliminary synthesis of the geological evolution of
Burma with reference to the tectonic development of Southeast
Asia. Geological Society of Malaysia Bulletin, Vol. 6, pp. 87–116.
 Mitchell, A.H.G., Htay, M.T. et al. (2007) Rock relationships in the Mogok
metamorphic belt, Tatkon to Mandalay, central Myanmar.Journal of Asian
Earth Sciences, Vol. 29, No. 5–6, pp. 891–910.
 Searle, M.P., Noble, S.R. et al. (2007) Tectonic evolution of the Mogok
metamorphic belt, Burma (Myanmar) constrained by U-Th-Pb dating of
metamorphic and magmatic rocks. Tectonics, Vol. 26, TC3014, 24 pp.
 Yui, T.-F., Zaw, K. et al. (2008) A preliminary stable isotope study on Mogok
ruby, Myanmar. Ore Geology Reviews, Vol. 34, No. 1–2, pp. 192–199.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance:
Hpone-Phyo Kan-Nyunt of Gübelin Gem Lab for helping to organize our latest
visit to Mogok in July 2013; Dr. Ei Ei, who helped guide us in Mogok; Saw Sanda
Soe, who shared her stories of growing up in Mogok; Ko Ye Aung Myo, Ko Than
Htwe, U Thein Htay, U Win Maung, all of Mogok. Finally, a special thank you to
GIT for financial support.
About the authors
Wilawan Atichat is the former director of the Gem and Jewelry Institute of
Thailand. She currently works as an advisor for the GIT Gem Testing Laboratory.
Richard W. Hughes is the author of the classic Ruby & Sapphire and over 170
articles on various aspects of gemology. Many of his writings can be found
at www.lotusgemology.com and www.ruby-sapphire.com. His latest book is Ruby
& Sapphire: A Collector's Guide (2014).
Notes
First published in InColor magazine, Fall/Winter 2013, pp. 46–50.
http://www.minelinks.com/alluvial/ruby2.html
PRECIOUS STONES
RUBY

RUBY AS A GEM
The facets of a cut ruby are ground on a rotating iron disc precisely as in the diamond.
The use of diamond-powder as a grinding material is now very general in Europe since
it considerably expedites the process. That of polishing follows the operation of
grinding, which is effected on a copper disc charged with tripolite moistened with water.
The forms of cutting adopted for the ruby are those generally used for the diamond.
The brilliant form is frequently chosen, since this displays the beauties of the stone to
the best possible advantage. In order to increase the transparency of the ruby,
however, the brilliant is cut thinner and flatter than is allowable in the case of the
diamond. Owing to the strong refraction of the ruby, the rays of light which enter the
stone by its front facets are totally reflected by the back facets and pass out by the
front of the stone, the fine red color of the ruby having been imparted to them during
their passage through it. It is this coloring of the rays of light, together with the brilliant
luster of the stone, which gives the ruby its effectiveness. Owing to the small dispersion
of corundum, the magnificent play of prismatic colors characteristic of the diamond is
almost absent in the ruby. This being so, the step-cut or trap-cut form of cutting is just
as effective as the brilliant for the ruby, or indeed for any colored stone which shows no
play of prismatic colors. The mixed-cut, of which the upper portion consists of brilliant
facets and the lower those of the step-cut, is also an effective form. Table-stones,
point-stones, and similar forms are scarcely ever cut now; the few examples met with
are the work of former times. Flat and thin rubies are usually cut as roses (rosettes),
since this form involves little loss of material and, at the same time, produces a good
effect. Very small stones are irregularly faceted; they are used to form a contrasting
border round some larger precious stone.
In Burma, the chief home of the ruby, the stones are cut en cabochon, that is to say
with a rounded surface, before they come on the market. When this form of cutting
does not display the beauties of a stone to the best advantage it is recut in Europe. It is
obviously to the purchaser's advantage to buy a ruby cut en cabochon rather than an
uncut stone, since in the former case it will be possible to detect any faults in the
interior. With the exception of the asterias or star-rubies, this gem is seldom in Europe
cut en cabochon; in the exceptional case mentioned, the rounded form of cutting is
obviously the most suitable for displaying the six-rayed chatoyant star for which the
stone is peculiar.
Clear and transparent stones of a full deep color are usually mounted in open settings
(a jour); those of poorer quality are often backed by a foil of gold or copper or red
glass, which materially improves their appearance. In Burma it is customary, instead of
setting such a stone on a foil, to hollow out the underside and fill it in with gold.
Besides being faceted and cut en cabochon, rubies are sometimes engraved with
inscriptions or figures, this being most frequently done in the East. Such antique gems
of ruby engraved with the head of Jupiter Serapis and a figure of Minerva are known.

Map of occurrence of ruby and sapphire in Burma and Siam.
(Scale, 1:15,000,000.)
OCCURRENCE
While the poorer qualities of ruby are widely distributed, clear, transparent material
suitable for cutting is found in but few countries, of which Burma, Siam, and Ceylon are
alone of commercial importance at the present time.
Now, just as in former times, Upper Burma furnishes us not only with the finest but also
with the largest supply of rubies. The distribution of precious stones (ruby, red
tourmaline, jadeite, and amber) in this country is shown on the map above. The ruby
mines of Upper Burma were worked at least as early as the fifteenth century and have
ever since supplied the greater part of the material used in jewelry, including the finest
stones known. The majority of the rubies, which are now put on the market, come from
Burma. It is probable; however, that part of this supply is the gradually accumulated
stock of former times, and that the yield of the mines is now smaller than formerly.
The Burmese ruby mines were mentioned long ago by Tavernier. According to his
account, which, however, was not based on personal observation but en second-hand
information, they were situated in the "Capelan Mountains", in Pegu, twelve days
journey in a north-east direction from the town of Syriam, now a small village close to
Rangoon. The yield at that time (second half of the seventeenth century) was
apparently not very great, and was estimated at 100,000 ecus ($2,445,000) per annum
by Tavernier, who adds that he found the importation of rubies from Europe into India a
lucrative business.
Tavernier's error in describing the locality of the ruby mines has been repeated again
and again, and is even now current in the text-books of the present day. There is not
the least doubt that the mines referred to are those which are still being worked in
Upper Burma, and which are very much further removed from Syriam than Tavernier
stated them to be. The distance from here to Mandalay is at least thirty-six days
journey, and from Mandalay to the principal ruby district of Mogok is another eight days
journey, the less important district of the Sagyin Hills lying, however, a little nearer. For
a long time the exact location of these mines was a secret jealously guarded by the
Burmese. Since the annexation of the country in 1886 by Britain, more detailed
information has been obtainable, and a part of the workings has been taken over by
Europeans. The district was officially visited and reported upon in 1888 by Mr. C.
Barrington Brown. The rocks and minerals collected there were examined by Professor
J. W. Judd, the result of their joint examination being published in 1896 in the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
The district of Mogok is the most important "ruby tract", or "stone tract", and embraces
an area of forty-five square miles, or, if some abandoned mines are included, sixty six
square miles. The ruby-bearing area is, in all probability, much greater than this,
extending to the south and east into the independent Shan States, and has been
estimated by Lockhart, who for two years was resident engineer to the Burma Ruby
Mining Company, at 400 square miles. This opinion is supported by the recent discovery
of an old ruby mine in the river gravels of the Nampai valley, near Namseka village, in
the Mainglon State. The district, which is mountainous, and scored by deep valleys, lies

to the east of the Irrawaddy, from which it is separated by a plain thirty miles in width,
in which a few unimportant ruby mines are worked by the natives.
This district has formed a part of the kingdom of Burma since 1637; its chief town and
center of the trade in precious stones is Mogok, latitude 22° 55' N., longitude 96° 30' E.
of Greenwich, thirty-four miles in a straight line (but fifty-eight by road) from the river,
and ninety miles north-north-east of Mandalay. A little below Mandalay is Ava, formerly
known as Ratanapura (city of gems), the old capital of Burma, round which the trade in
precious stones of the whole country centers. Mogok stands at an elevation of 4,100
feet above sea level, while the highest point of the district has an elevation of 7,775
feet. In spite of this the country is covered with thick forests, and is unhealthy both for
Europeans and natives. The principal mines are situated in the valleys in which stand
the towns of Kathay and Kyatpyen (Kapyun). The mountains surrounding the latter
town have been conclusively proved by Prinsep to be identical with the "Capelan
Mountains" of Tavernier.
The mother-rock of the ruby and of the minerals, such as spinel, with which it is
associated, is a white, dolomitic, granular limestone or marble, which forms whole
mountain ranges in this district, and which, according to the investigations of Dr. F.
Noetling, of the Indian Geological Survey, is of Upper Carboniferous age. These rocks
were originally compact limestones of the ordinary kind, which have been altered by
contact with intrusive masses of molten igneous rock; this caused the calcium
carbonate to re-crystallize out as pure calcite, while the impurities contained in the
original limestone crystallized out separately as ruby and its associated minerals.
Geologists know the alteration of rocks by contact with a mass of molten igneous
material as contact-metamorphism; the results of the process are frequently to be
observed in all parts of the world, but, although corundum is often to be found in such
altered rocks, fine ruby of gem-quality is only rarely met with. Such were the
conclusions as to the geology of the district and the mode of origin of the ruby arrived
at by Professor Max Bauer, from information and specimens supplied to him by Dr. F.
Noetling, and published in a scientific journal in 1896. The point of view adopted by Mr.
C. Barrington Brown and Professor J. W. Judd must not, however, be passed over
without notice.
These authors describe the white crystalline limestone, which alone contains the ruby
and spinel, as occurring in thick bands interfoliated with gneisses. These gneisses are
usually of intermediate chemical composition; but sometimes of more acid, and at other
times of more basic character; the crystalline limestones are more intimately associated
with the basic gneisses (pyroxene-gneisses and pyroxene-granulites, with pyroxenites
and amphibolites). These contain crystals of calcite, and as the proportion of calcite
present increases, they merge gradually in the limestones. It is concluded, on these
grounds, that the limestones have been derived by the alteration of the lime-feldspar in
these basic rocks. This feldspar (anorthite), being a silicate of calcium and aluminum,
would, on alteration, give rise to calcium carbonate and hydrated aluminum silicates,
the former being deposited as calcite, and the latter as silica (opal), and various
aluminum hydroxides (diaspore, gibbsite, bauxite, etc.). Under other conditions of
temperature and pressure these may have been afterwards converted into crystallized
anhydrous alumina, that is ruby.

In the masses of crystallized limestone occurring in situ precious stones are only
sparingly present, being found in much greater abundance in the clayey and sandy
weathered products of the mother-rock, which lie on the sides of the hills, fill up the
bottom of the valleys, and are often overlain by similar detrital material containing no
precious stones. This secondary gem-bearing bed consists of brown or yellow, more or
less firm, clayey, and at times sandy, material, known to the Burmese as "byon", which
may be regarded as the residue after the solution of the limestones by weathering
processes. It contains beside ruby, sapphire, and other color-varieties of corundum,
spinel (Tavernier's "mother of ruby"), tourmaline, large fragments of quartz, grains of
variously colored feldspars, nodules of weathered iron-pyrites, and other minerals of
more or less value, together with fragments of the rocks which occur in situ in the
neighborhood. Sometimes in the river alluvium, instead of clayey and sandy material,
there are pure gem-sands consisting mainly of minute sparkling grains of ruby.
The gem-bearing layer lies on a soft decomposed rock of characteristic appearance.
When the natives reach this level in their excavations they know that the "byon"
extends no further down, and that work at that spot must be abandoned. The "byon"
lies about 15 to 20 feet below the surface of the floor of the valleys, and is from 4 to 5
feet in thickness, though occasionally it may thin off to a few inches. On the sides of the
hills the bed of "byan" may be 15 to 20 feet thick, and sometimes as much as 50 feet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogok
Mogok (Burmese: မုိုးကုတ်, pronounced: [móɡoʊʔ]; Shan: မိူင်ိုးၵုတ််ႈ) is a city in the Pyin Oo Lwin District of
the Mandalay Region ofMyanmar, located 200 km north of Mandalay and 148 km north-east
of Shwebo. Mogok was in Shan State and after British, the town was put in Mandalay Region along
with Pyin Oo Lwin.
Geography
At 1170 meters in elevation, the city has a fairly temperate climate year-round, and is home to
mostly Bamar, with large minorities ofShan, Lisu, Palaung, and Karen ethnic groups, as well
as Chinese, Indians and Gurkhas. The city is composed of two towns, Mogok and Kyat Pyin. Mogok
is four miles long and two miles wide. It is situated in a valley surrounded by a large number of
mountains. Kyat Pyin lies about 12 miles from Mogok. Tourist travel to the area is not permitted.
Repute for gemstones
Mogok and other villages nearby have been famous since ancient times for its gemstones,
especially ruby and sapphire, but semi-precious stones such as lapis
lazuli, garnet, moonstone, peridot and chrysoberyl are also found. The gems are found
in alluvial marble gravels by means of panning, tunneling and digging pits by hand. There is little
mechanization of the mining. The gravels derive from the metamorphosed limestones (marbles) of
the Mogok metamorphic belt

Gems are sold in markets in Mogok; however, foreigners require special permits to visit the town,
and purchase/export of gems from Myanmar at non-government licensed dealers is illegal.
90% of the world's rubies come from Myanmar. The red stones from there are prized for their purity
and hue. Thailand buys the majority of Myanmar's gems. The "Valley of Rubies", the mountainous
Mogok area, 200 km (120 mi) north of Mandalay, is noted as the original source of ruby including the
world's finest "pigeon's blood" rubies as well as the most world's most beautiful sapphires in "royal"
blue.
Notes
1. Jump up^ "Pyin Oo Lwin / Mogoke Map" Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
2. Jump
up^ http://www.myanmartourism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351&
Itemid=289
3. Jump up^ Searle, D. L.; Ba Than Haq (1964) "The Mogok belt of Burma and its relationship
to the Himalayan orogeny" Proceedings of the 22nd International Geological Conference,
Delhi 11: pp. 132–161
4. Jump up^ Iyer, Lakshinarayanpuran Anantkrishna Narayana (1953) The geology and gem-
stones of the Mogok Stone Tract, BurmaGeological Survey of India Memoir 82, Government of
India Press, Calcutta, OCLC 6526679 ; reprinted in 2007 by White Lotus, Bangkok, ISBN 978-
974-480-123-4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium
oxide). The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes
from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires. Ruby is
considered one of the four precious stones, together with sapphire, emerald and diamond.[3]
Prices of rubies are primarily determined by color. The brightest and most valuable "red" called
blood-red or "pigeon blood", commands a large premium over other rubies of similar quality. After
color follows clarity: similar to diamonds, a clear stone will command a premium, but a ruby without
any needle-like rutile inclusions may indicate that the stone has been treated. Cut and carat (weight)
are also an important factor in determining the price. Ruby is the traditional birthstone for July and is
usually more pink than garnet, although some rhodolitegarnets have a similar pinkish hue to most
rubies. The world's most expensive ruby is the Sunrise Ruby.
Physical properties

Crystal structure of rubies
Rubies have a hardness of 9.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Among the natural gems
onlymoissanite and diamond are harder, with diamond having a Mohs hardness of 10.0 and
moissanite falling somewhere in between corundum (ruby) and diamond in hardness. Sapphire,
ruby, and pure corundum are α-alumina, the most stable form of Al2O3, in which 3 electrons leave
each aluminum ion to join the regular octahedral group of six nearby O2− ions; in pure corundum this
leaves all of the aluminum ions with a very stable configuration of no unpaired electrons or unfilled
energy levels, and the crystal is perfectly colorless.
When a chromium atom replaces an occasional aluminum atom, it too loses 3 electrons to become a
chromium3+ ion to maintain the charge balance of the Al2O3 crystal. However the Cr3+ ions are larger
and have electron orbitals in different directions than aluminum. The octahedral arrangement of the
O2− ions is distorted, and the energy levels of the different orbitals of those Cr3+ ions are slightly
altered because of the directions to the O2− ions.[4] Those energy differences correspond to
absorption in the ultraviolet, violet, and yellow-green regions of the spectrum.
Transmittance of ruby in optical and near-IR spectra. Note the two broad violet and yellow-green
absorption bands and one narrow absorption band at the wavelength of 694 nm, which is the
wavelength of the ruby laser.
If one percent of the aluminum ions are replaced by chromium in ruby, the yellow-green absorption
results in a red color for the gem. Additionally, absorption at any of the above wavelengths

stimulates fluorescent emission of 694-nanometer-wavelength red light, which adds to its red color
and perceived luster.
After absorbing short-wavelength light, there is an interval of time when the crystal lattice of ruby is
in an excited state before fluorescence is actually emitted. If 694-nanometer photons pass through
the crystal during that time, they can stimulate more fluorescence photons to be emitted in-phase
with them, thus strengthening the intensity of that red light. By arranging mirrors or other means to
pass emitted light repeatedly through the crystal, a ruby laser in this way produces a very high
intensity of coherent red light.
All natural rubies have imperfections in them, including color impurities and inclusions
of rutile needles known as "silk". Gemologists use these needle inclusions found in natural rubies to
distinguish them from synthetics, simulants, or substitutes. Usually the rough stone is heated before
cutting. Almost all rubies today are treated in some form, with heat treatment being the most
common practice. However, rubies that are completely untreated but still of excellent quality
command a large premium.
Some rubies show a three-point or six-point asterism or "star". These rubies are cut
into cabochons to display the effect properly. Asterisms are best visible with a single-light source,
and move across the stone as the light moves or the stone is rotated. Such effects occur when light
is reflected off the "silk" (the structurally oriented rutile needle inclusions) in a certain way. This is
one example where inclusions increase the value of a gemstone. Furthermore, rubies can show
color changes—though this occurs very rarely—as well as chatoyancy or the "cat's eye" effect.
Ruby vs. pink sapphire
Generally, gemstone-quality corundum in all shades of red, including pink, are called
rubies.[5][6] However, in the United States, a minimum color saturation must be met to be called a
ruby, otherwise the stone will be called a pink sapphire.[5] This distinction between rubies and pink
sapphires is relatively new, having arisen sometime in the 20th century. If a distinction is made, the
line separating a ruby from a pink sapphire is not clear and highly debated.[7] As a result of the
difficulty and subjectiveness of such distinctions, trade organizations such as the International
Colored Gemstone Association (ICGA) have adopted the broader definition for ruby which
encompasses its lighter shades, including pink.
Natural occurrence
The Mogok Valley in Upper Myanmar (Burma) was for centuries the world's main source for rubies.
That region has produced some of the finest rubies ever mined, but in recent years very few good
rubies have been found there. The very best color in Myanmar rubies is sometimes described as
"pigeon's blood." In central Myanmar, the area of Mong Hsu began producing rubies during the

1990s and rapidly became the world's main ruby mining area. The most recently found ruby deposit
in Myanmar is in Namya (Namyazeik) located in the northern state of Kachin.
Rubies have historically been mined in Thailand, the Pailin and Samlout
District of Cambodia, Burma, India, Afghanistan, Australia, Namibia, Colombia,Japan, Scotland, Bra
zil and in Pakistan. In Sri Lanka, lighter shades of rubies (often "pink sapphires") are more commonly
found. After the Second World War ruby deposits were found
in Tanzania, Madagascar, Vietnam, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.[10]
A few rubies have been found in the U.S. states of Montana, North Carolina, South
Carolina and Wyoming. While searching for aluminous schists in Wyoming, geologist Dan
Hausel noted an association of vermiculite with ruby and sapphire and located six previously
undocumented deposits.[11]
More recently, large ruby deposits have been found under the receding ice shelf of Greenland.[citation
needed]
Republic of Macedonia is the only country in mainland Europe to have naturally occurring rubies.
They can mainly be found around the city of Prilep. Macedonian ruby has a unique raspberry color.
The ruby is also included on the Macedonian Coat of Arms.
In 2002 rubies were found in the Waseges River area of Kenya. There are reports of a large deposit
of rubies found in 2009 in Mozambique, in Nanhumbir in the Cabo Delgado district ofMontepuez.[12]
Spinel, another red gemstone, is sometimes found along with rubies in the same gem gravel or
marble. Red spinel may be mistaken for ruby by those lacking experience with gems. However, the
finest red spinels can have a value approaching that of the average ruby.
Factors affecting value
Diamonds are graded using criteria that have become known as the four Cs, namely color, cut,
clarity and carat weight. Similarly natural rubies can be evaluated using the four Cs together with
their size and geographic origin.
Color: In the evaluation of colored gemstones, color is the most important factor. Color divides into
three components: hue, saturation and tone. Hue refers to "color" as we normally use the term.
Transparent gemstones occur in the following primary hues: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet.
These are known as pure spectral hues.[14] In nature, there are rarely pure hues, so when speaking
of the hue of a gemstone, we speak of primary and secondary and sometimes tertiary hues. In ruby,
the primary hue must be red. All other hues of the gem species corundum are called sapphire. Ruby
may exhibit a range of secondary hues. Orange, purple, violet and pink are possible.


A naturally occurring ruby crystal

Natural ruby with inclusions

Rubies set in jewelry

A cut pink ruby

The finest ruby is best described as being a vivid medium-dark toned red. Secondary hues add an
additional complication. Pink, orange, and purple are the normal secondary hues in ruby. Of the
three, purple is preferred because, firstly, the purple reinforces the red, making it appear
richer.[14] Secondly, purple occupies a position on the color wheel halfway between red and blue. In
Burma where the term 'pigeon blood' originated, rubies are set in pure gold. Pure gold is itself a
highly saturated yellow. When a purplish-red ruby is set in yellow, the yellow neutralizes its
complement blue, leaving the stone appearing to be pure red in the setting.
Treatments and enhancements
Improving the quality of gemstones by treating them is common practice. Some treatments are used
in almost all cases and are therefore considered acceptable. During the late 1990s, a large supply of
low-cost materials caused a sudden surge in supply of heat-treated rubies, leading to a downward
pressure on ruby prices.
Improvements used include color alteration, improving transparency by dissolving rutile inclusions,
healing of fractures (cracks) or even completely filling them.
The most common treatment is the application of heat. Most, if not all, rubies at the lower end of the
market are heat treated on the rough stones to improve color, remove purple tinge, blue patches and
silk. These heat treatments typically occur around temperatures of 1800 °C (3300 °F).[15] Some
rubies undergo a process of low tube heat, when the stone is heated over charcoal of a temperature
of about 1300 °C (2400 °F) for 20 to 30 minutes. The silk is only partially broken as the color is
improved.
Another treatment, which has become more frequent in recent years, is lead glass filling. Filling the
fractures inside the ruby with lead glass (or a similar material) dramatically improves the
transparency of the stone, making previously unsuitable rubies fit for applications in jewelry.[16] The
process is done in four steps:
1. The rough stones are pre-polished to eradicate all surface impurities that may affect the
process
2. The rough is cleaned with hydrogen fluoride
3. The first heating process during which no fillers are added. The heating process eradicates
impurities inside the fractures. Although this can be done at temperatures up to 1400 °C
(2500 °F) it most likely occurs at a temperature of around 900 °C (1600 °F) since the rutile
silk is still intact.
4. The second heating process in an electrical oven with different chemical additives. Different
solutions and mixes have shown to be successful, however mostly lead-containing glass-
powder is used at present. The ruby is dipped into oils, then covered with powder,
embedded on a tile and placed in the oven where it is heated at around 900 °C (1600 °F) for

one hour in an oxidizing atmosphere. The orange colored powder transforms upon heating
into a transparent to yellow-colored paste, which fills all fractures. After cooling the color of
the paste is fully transparent and dramatically improves the overall transparency of the
ruby.[17]
If a color needs to be added, the glass powder can be "enhanced" with copper or other metal oxides
as well as elements such as sodium, calcium, potassium etc.
The second heating process can be repeated three to four times, even applying different
mixtures.[18] When jewelry containing rubies is heated (for repairs) it should not be coated with
boracic acid or any other substance, as this can etch the surface; it does not have to be "protected"
like a diamond.
The treatment can easily be determined using a 10x loupe and determination focuses on finding
bubbles either in the cavities or in the fractures that were filled with glass.[19]
Synthetic and imitation rubies
Artificial ruby under a normal light (top) and under a green laser light (bottom). Red light is emitted
In 1837 Gaudin made the first synthetic rubies by fusing potash alum at a high temperature with a
little chromium as a pigment. In 1847 Ebelmen made white sapphire by fusing alumina in boric acid.
In 1877 Frenic and Freil made crystal corundum from which small stones could be cut. Frimy
and Auguste Verneuil manufactured artificial ruby by fusing BaF2 and Al2O3 with a little chromium
at red heat. In 1903 Verneuil announced he could produce synthetic rubies on a commercial scale
using this flame fusion process.[20] By 1910, Verneuil's laboratory had expanded into a 30 furnace
production facility, with annual gemstone production having reached 1,000 kilograms (2,000 lb) in
1907.

Other processes in which synthetic rubies can be produced are through Czochralski's pulling
process, flux process, and the hydrothermal process. Most synthetic rubies originate from flame
fusion, due to the low costs involved. Synthetic rubies may have no imperfections visible to the
naked eye but magnification may reveal curves, striae and gas bubbles. The fewer the number and
the less obvious the imperfections, the more valuable the ruby is; unless there are no imperfections
(i.e., a "perfect" ruby), in which case it will be suspected of being artificial. Dopants are added to
some manufactured rubies so they can be identified as synthetic, but most need gemological testing
to determine their origin.
Synthetic rubies have technological uses as well as gemological ones. Rods of synthetic ruby are
used to make ruby lasers and masers. The first working laser was made by Theodore H. Maiman in
1960[21] at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, beating several research teams
including those of Charles H. Townes at Columbia University, Arthur Schawlow at Bell Labs,[22] and
Gould at a company called TRG (Technical Research Group). Maiman used a solid-state light-
pumped synthetic ruby to produce red laser light at a wavelength of 694 nanometers (nm). Ruby
lasers are still in use. Rubies are also used in applications where high hardness is required such as
at wear exposed locations in modern mechanical clockworks, or as scanning probe tips in
a coordinate measuring machine.
Imitation rubies are also marketed. Red spinels, red garnets, and colored glass have been falsely
claimed to be rubies. Imitations go back to Roman times and already in the 17th century techniques
were developed to color foil red—by burning scarlet wool in the bottom part of the furnace—which
was then placed under the imitation stone.[23]Trade terms such as balas ruby for red spinel
and rubellite for red tourmaline can mislead unsuspecting buyers. Such terms are therefore
discouraged from use by many gemological associations such as the Laboratory Manual
Harmonisation Committee (LMHC).
Records and famous rubies
Rubies at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA
 The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. has received one of
the world's largest and finest ruby gemstones. The 23.1 carats (4.62 g) Burmese ruby, set in a
platinum ring with diamonds, was donated by businessman and philanthropist Peter Buck in
memory of his late wife Carmen Lúcia. This gemstone displays a richly saturated red color

combined with an exceptional transparency. The finely proportioned cut provides vivid red
reflections. The stone was mined from the Mogok region of Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1930s.
 In 2007 the London jeweler Garrard & Co featured on their website a heart-shaped 40.63-carat
ruby.
 On December 13/14, 2011 Elizabeth Taylor's complete jewellery collection was auctioned
by Christie's. Several ruby-set pieces were included in the sale, notably a ring set with an 8.24 ct
gem that broke the 'price-per-carat' record for rubies ($512,925 per carat, i.e. over $4.2 million in
total), and a necklace that sold for over $3.7 million.
 The Liberty Bell Ruby is the largest mined ruby in the world. It was stolen in a heist in 2011.[28]
 The Sunrise Ruby is the world's most expensive ruby, most expensive coloured gemstone, and
most expensive gemstone other than a diamond. In May 2015, it sold at auction in Switzerland
to an anonymous buyer for US$30 million.
 A synthetic ruby crystal became the gain medium in the world's first optical laser, conceived,
designed and constructed by Theodore H. "Ted" Maiman, on the 16th of May, 1961 at Hughes
Research Laboratories.[30][31] The concept of electromagnetic radiation amplification through the
mechanism of Stimulated Emission had already been successfully demonstrated in the
laboratory by way of the Maser, using other materials such as ammonia and indeed, later, ruby,
but the Ruby Laser was the first device to work at optical (694.3 nm) wavelengths. Maiman's
prototype laser is still in working order.
Historical and cultural references
 In Job 28:18 and Proverbs 3:15, wisdom is more valuable than rubies. In Proverbs 31:10, a wife
of noble character is worth more than rubies.
 An early recorded transport and trading of rubies arises in the literature on the North Silk
Road of China, wherein about 200 BC rubies were carried along this ancient trackway moving
westward from China.
 Rubies have always been held in high esteem in Asian countries. They were used to ornament
armor, scabbards, and harnesses of noblemen in India and China. Rubies were laid beneath the
foundation of buildings to secure good fortune to the structure.[
References
1. Ruby on Gemdat.org
2. Jump up^ Precious Stones, Max Bauer, p. 2
3. ^ Jump up to:a b "Ruby: causes of color". Retrieved 28 Mar 2016.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b Matlins, Antoinette Leonard (2010). Colored Gemstones. Gemstone Press.
p. 203. ISBN 0-943763-72-X.

5. Jump up^ Reed, Peter (1991). Gemmology. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 337. ISBN 0-7506-
6449-5.
6. Jump up^ Wise, Richard G. "Gemstone Connoisseurship; The Finer Points, Part II".
7. Jump up^ Hughes, Richard W. "Walking the line in ruby & sapphire". ruby-sapphire.com.
8. Jump up^ Federman, David. "Pink Sapphire". Modern Jeweler.
9. Jump up^ http://www.gemsociety.org/article/ruby-sapphire-identifying-origin-understanding-
value-rarity-gem-corundum/
10. Jump up^ Hausel, W. Dan (2009). Gems, Minerals and Rocks of Wyoming. Book Surge.
p. 176.ISBN 1-4392-1856-0.
11. Jump up^ Mozambique: Police Seize Boat With 96 Illegal Immigrants. AllAfrica. 4
November 2010
12. Jump up^ Wenk, Hans-Rudolf; Bulakh, A. G. (2004). Minerals: their constitution and origin.
Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. pp. 539–541. ISBN 0-521-52958-1.
13. ^ Jump up to:a b Wise, Richard W. (2006). Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur's
Guide To Precious Gemstones. Brunswick House Press. pp. 18–22. ISBN 0-9728223-8-0.
14. Jump up^ The Heat Treatment of Ruby and Sapphire. Bangkok, Thailand: Gemlab Inc.
1992.ISBN 0940965100.
15. Jump up^ Vincent Pardieu Lead Glass Filled/Repaired Rubies. Asian Institute of
Gemological Sciences Gem Testing Laboratory. February 2005
16. Jump up^ Richard W. Hughes (1997), Ruby & Sapphire, Boulder, CO, RWH
Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9645097-6-4
17. Jump up^ Milisenda, C C (2005). "Rubine mit bleihaltigen Glasern gefullt". Zeitschrift der
Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft (in German) (Deutschen Gemmologischen
Gesellschaft) 54 (1): 35–41.
18. Jump up^ "Lead Glass-Filled Rubies". GIA Global Dispatch (Gemological Institute of
America). 2012.
19. Jump up^ "Bahadur: a Handbook of Precious Stones". 1943. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
20. Jump up^ Maiman, T.H. (1960). "Stimulated optical radiation in ruby". Nature 187 (4736):
493–494. Bibcode:1960Natur.187..493M. doi:10.1038/187493a0.
21. Jump up^ Hecht, Jeff (2005). Beam: The Race to Make the Laser. Oxford University
Press.ISBN 0-19-514210-1.
22. Jump up^ "Thomas Nicols: A Lapidary or History of Gemstones". 1652. Retrieved 2007-08-
19.
23. Jump up^ "The Carmen Lúcia Ruby". Exhibitions. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
24. Jump up^ "Garrards – Treasures (large and important jewelry pieces)". Retrieved 2010-11-
08.

25. Jump up^ The Legendary Jewels, Evening Sale & Jewelry (Sessions II and III) | Press
Release | Christie's. Christies.com (2011-12-14). Retrieved on 2012-07-11.
26. Jump up^ Elizabeth Taylor's ruby and diamond necklace. News.yahoo.com (2011-09-07).
Retrieved on 2012-07-11.
27. Jump up^ http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/01/09/irreplaceable-2-million-ruby-stolen-
in-wilmington-jewelry-heist/
28. Jump up^ "World's most expensive coloured gem sells for $30m". BBC. 13 May 2015.
Retrieved 13 May 2015.
29. Jump up^ Maiman, T.H. (1960) "Stimulated Optical Radiation in Ruby". Nature, 187 4736,
pp. 493-494.
30. Jump up^ "Laser inventor Maiman dies; tribute to be held on anniversary of first laser".
Laser Focus World. 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
31. Jump up^ C. Michael Hogan, Silk Road, North China, The Megalithic Portal. 19 November
2007
32. Jump up^ Smith, Henry G. (1896). "Chapter 2, Sapphires, Rubies". Gems and Precious
Stones. Charles Potter Government Printer, Australia.
http://discovermagazine.com/
2004/nov/geology-of-rubies
The Geology of...Rubies
A ruby's dazzling color masks the mysterious origins of its
birth.
2. By Anne Sasso|Thursday, November 25, 2004
3. RELATED TAGS: EARTH SCIENCE
4. Sometimes George Harlow looks more like a medieval magician than the curator of
gems and minerals at the American Museum of Natural History. Sweeping an
ultraviolet light wand over a box of rocks in a darkened room at the museum, he
ignites the stones—uncut rubies—in a burst of fiery red light that is otherworldly.
“It’s like Day-Glo colors,” he says. “They are brighter than they should be. You look at
them and say: ‘Wow! Look at that red! What’s going on?’ ”
5. That remarkable radiance—caused by any ultraviolet light, including UV rays from
the sun—has given rubies a special place in history. Long before Marco Polo found

his way to Asia, Burmese warriors were embedding the stones under their skin to
make them invincible in battle. Sanskrit medical texts were prescribing rubies as a
cure for flatulence and biliousness. And Hindu lore was preaching that a ruby’s light
could not be extinguished nor hidden by clothing. Geologists can explain the glow:
Ultraviolet light causes the chromium in rubies to fluoresce. But there is much about
rubies that scientists cannot account for. The biggest question, the one that has
geologists on both sides of the Atlantic at odds with each other, is how rubies formed
in the first place. Geologists simply do not know. That rubies even exist, says Peter
Heaney, geosciences professor at Penn State University, is something of a “minor
geological miracle.”
6. Rubies are a type of corundum, a rare mineral made up of densely packed aluminum
and oxygen atoms, which are normally colorless. When other atoms are substituted
for a few of the aluminum ones, bright hues emerge. Small amounts of chromium
impart the deep red color of ruby, traces of titanium and iron produce the stunning
blue of sapphire, and chromium and ferric iron create the delicate orange shades of
the extremely rare and costly padparadscha.
7. None of this can take place, however, if silica or large amounts of iron are present.
And therein lies the mystery. Since silica is one of the most abundant elements in
Earth’s crust, how is it that rubies managed to avoid it but at the same time connect
with the exceedingly rare chromium? And how did rubies avoid iron, another
common element? Sapphires and padparadscha need some iron, but rubies, by
definition, have very little at all. “The fluorescence [of a ruby] is tied to its
composition, to the low iron. That’s hard to do in geology, to get the iron that low,”
says Harlow. “Corundum is rare enough as it is. So, adding all these things together,
ruby is very rare.”
8. The majority of the world’s ruby deposits (but not necessarily the best) are in a
discontinuous band of marble that stretches 1,800 miles along the southern slope of
the Himalayas from Tajikistan through Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Nepal, and
on into China and Vietnam. The model of ruby formation that many geologists,
including Harlow, accept involves tectonics: two continents—India and Asia—
smashing together to form the Himalayas.
9. Around 50 million years ago, the Indian subcontinent moved toward Asia,
constricting the Tethys Sea, an ancient ocean that lay between. On the floor of the
Tethys were deposits of limestone, sedimentary rocks of calcium carbonate (the stuff
of Tums). “It turns out that many limestones are dirty,” says Heaney. The Tethyan
limestone was composed of every mineral that washed off the rocks of the

surrounding land, including all the ingredients necessary for rubies: aluminum,
oxygen, and chromium, plus silica.
10. As the Tethys closed up, its limestones were pushed deep into the earth, where they
were cooked and squeezed at inferno-like temperatures (1,112 to 1,238 degrees
Fahrenheit) and pressures (3 to 6 kilobars). The result? They metamorphosed into
sparkly marble—the kind Michelangelo loved to work with. At the same time, molten
granite intruded into the marble, releasing fluids that percolated up through the
rock. That process, called metasomatism, removed the silica but left the alumina
behind. For the next 40 million to 45 million years, the two continents slowly
squeezed together, raising the Himalayas. Erosion eventually exposed a necklace of
ruby deposits along the scar where the two plates collided.
11. Studies done in France by Gaston Giuliani of the Institute of Research and
Development, along with Virginie Garnier and Daniel Ohnenstetter of the
Petrographical and Geochemical Research Center, back up the traditional view—in
part. They link the timing of ruby formation to the rise of the Himalayas. “When we
dated the ruby deposits, we noticed that they were directly related to the continental
collision and to the Himalayan orogeny [mountain building],” says Giuliani. “So the
ruby is in effect an ideal marker of this continental collision.”
12. But the French team also noticed that while the Himalayas’ ruby-hosting marbles
extend over large areas, the rubies themselves occur only erratically in patches. “The
occurrence of ruby is very isolated and localized. We don’t find rubies everywhere
that there is marble. So then we had to ask, why do we only find ruby in certain
locations? Because if it’s a metamorphic phenomenon, normally it affects the whole
ensemble of marble,” says Giuliani. “But that wasn’t the case, so there’s a big secret
here.”
13. The secret, the French believe, is salt. Not only were the limestones dirty, they were
salty as well. The Tethys, they say, was so shallow in places that it would occasionally
dry out, leaving behind a thin rind of salt from evaporated seawater. The salt mixed
with detritus washing off the land to form the unique limestone that gave birth to
rubies. Once heated, the salt acted like a flux, assuring that the aluminum became
mobile enough to mix with the chromium.
14. Further clues to salt’s role lie deep within the microscopic world of the ruby crystal.
There Garnier found tiny drops of fluid, immortalized snapshots of the liquids
swirling within the marble when the rubies crystallized. Minuscule crystals of sodium
chloride and anhydrite (found in sea salt) float within the liquid. But what of ruby’s

enemy, silica? Garnier claims that there wasn’t enough present in the original rocks
to do much damage. And what of the role of granite? Giuliani says it had no role at
all.
15. Harlow disagrees. “The fundamental issue is, if you metamorphose a marble, the
silica content is much greater than that of aluminum, and you’re never going to make
corundum—although we all know that there are marble-hosted corundum deposits.
So how do you do it?” he asks. “Simple. You need a fluid. You need some transport
mechanism to reduce the silica in the rock.” Intrusions, like granites, offer a
convenient source of fluids. “It’s a simple mechanism, even though it’s not yet proven
for rubies,” he adds.
16. No model of ruby formation will be considered definitive until geologists can explain
the legendary stones of the famed Mogok mine in Myanmar (formerly Burma),
source of some of the world’s finest rubies and spinels. While Mogok gems are
indeed hosted in marble, they often grow alongside beautiful topaz and moonstone,
minerals that are igneous (crystallized from rising magmas) rather than
metamorphic in origin. The huge size of these crystals implies a type of magma called
pegmatite, a juicy water-rich melt that provides unusual conditions, allowing
minerals to grow to enormous sizes. This suggests that different processes than those
hypothesized for the creation of other rubies were at work. “The minerals blew my
mind,” Harlow says. “I started seeing things that really challenged the concept that
rubies are metamorphic.”
17. Sadly, it may be some time before geologists can sort this out. Politics in Myanmar
have long blocked scientists —especially Western scientists—from entering the
country to take a look. “The fundamental problem with Myanmar is that you can’t get
in there to do anything,” Harlow says. “And the people who have done the geology
are Myanmar geologists who, unfortunately, are suffering with being 40 years behind
in science.”
18. If Western scientists were allowed complete access to Mogok, would they find an
answer to the question of how rubies formed? Harlow isn’t sure. “Yes, Mogok’s
special,” he says. “But is it going to defy the other models or defy other
interpretations? I don’t think fundamentally it will. There’s astrong similarity among
a lot of the deposits, even though the details tend to be different. I think we’re still a
ways away from answering these questions.”
http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/r-s-bk-burma.htm

The quest for precious stones does not rank high on humankind's list of
worthy or redeeming activities. You'll find no mention of it in the Boy Scout
handbook. And you'll not see it prescribed by priests as a path towards
forgiveness, for in the struggle to possess the earth's booty, far too many a
sinner is born and even more falsehoods are fabricated. We cannot look to
gemstone mining for useful homilies. There is no lesson via process, no
consolation in the journey. The only reward is the reward itself – to
possess, to claim as one's own. Gem mining's attraction is thus: grasp the
purest of the pure, tap God's current, the power of all creation. Hold the
earth's bounty in one's own hand… and damn anyone who shall stand in
your way.
Anonymous
Figure 1. Dust jacket from the 1960 English edition of
Joseph Kessel's Mogok: The Valley of Rubies.
Burma (Myanmar)
Corundum has been found in a number of different areas of Burma. These include Sagyin
(near Mandalay), Thabeitkyin, Naniazeik (near Myitkyina), Mogok and, most recently, Möng
Hsu (central Shan state). Most famous is the Mogok Stone Tract, which has remained the
world's premier source of ruby for more than 800 years.
Far away in a remote corner of the earth is a town of mushroom growth, called Mogok… It has
but one industry, the recovery of rubies from mud and sand. You may be ever so hungry or
thirsty, the first things offered or mentioned to you are rubies. No matter what business may have
brought you to Mogok, the natives all assume you are there for rubies – rubies, nothing but
rubies… It is said that a king would be ruling at Mandalay today if it had not been for rubies…

Anonymous, 1905, A city built on rubies
Figure 2. Kipling called it a "beautiful winking
wonder." It is Rangoon's Shwedagon Pagoda,
symbol of Burma, theGolden Land. Ralph Fitch, the
great English traveler of the 16th century, described
it thus:
"…it is called Dogonne, and is of a wonderfull
bignesse, and all gilded from the foot to the toppe…
It is the fairest place, as I suppose, that is in the
world."
In addition to the numerous solid gold plates, the
upper reaches are embedded with literally
thousands of diamonds and other precious stones.
Atop it all rests a 76-ct diamond orb. (Photo by the
author, 1980)
When one speaks of ruby, the Mogok Stone Tract in Upper Burma immediately
springs to mind. Lying approximately 644 km (400 miles) north of Rangoon, Mogok
has for the past 800 years been the premier source of fine rubies. It is an area
steeped in legend and its story embraces not only gems, but also the early
exploration and expansion of the European colonial empires into Asia.
The town of Mogok (1500 m) is located in the Katha district of Upper Burma.
Consisting of heavily-jungled hills rising to a height of 2347 m (7700 ft) above sea
level, the ruby mines district covers about 400 sq miles, although only a portion
(70 sq miles) is gem bearing. Considered one of the most scenic areas in Burma, it
is home to a number of colorful ethnic groups, as well as a variety of wildlife,
including elephants, tiger, bear and leopard.

Figure 3. Pigeon's Blood
Left: The 196-ct Hixon Ruby of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History is one of the
finest Burmese ruby crystals on public display. Unfortunately, such crystals are all too rare – most
are immediately cut, since the market for cut stones is far larger than that for mineral specimens.
Right: These extraordinary rubies, at 5.56 and 5.25 ct., represent a lifetime's toil. They are
mounted in the traditional Burmese manner, with the gold setting improving the stones' color, as
well as acting as a mirror to increase the gems' brilliance.

Figure 4. Map of Southeast Asia, showing the important gem localities, particularly those of
Burma.
Timeline of ruby and sapphire in Burma
Middle Pleistocene
Ruby is probably discovered in the Mogok region by stone-age humans inhabiting the area.

6th Century AD
One of the seven sons of Kun-Lung, founder of the Shan dynasty, is said to rule a state,
probably Momeit, a near which ruby mines existed. His tribute to the central government
was two viss b yearly (G.S. Streeter, 1889a).
1200s
Talaing chronicles speak of a kingdom of Kanpalan [Kyatpyin?] (Mason, 1850; Halford-
Watkins, 1934).
1419–1444
Nicolò di Conti visits Ava (Penzer, 1929).
1495–1496
Hieronimo di Santo Stefano, a Genoese merchant, visits Pegu. Ava is described as a land
lying fifteen days' journey from Pegu. Rubies and many other precious stones are said to
"grow" there (Major, 1857).
1500–1517
Duarte Barbosa does not visit, but describes Ava and Capelam [Kyatpyin?] and the ruby
trade (Dames, 1918).
1502–1508
Ludovico di Varthema visits Pegu and describes the source of rubies as Capellan. In return
for a present of coral, di Varthema received from the king of Pegu about 200 rubies in
return: "Take these for the liberality you have exercised towards me" (Temple, 1928).
1563
Cæsar Fredericke visits Pegu, describes the ruby trade, and buys rubies for later sale in
Ceylon (Hakluyt, 1903–05).
1586
Ralph Fitch, the first Englishman to reach Burma, visits Pegu and describes the ruby trade.
He mentions Caplan as the source (Hakluyt, 1903–05).
1597
Burmese king, Nuha-Thura Maha Dhama-Yaza forces the Momeik sawbwa (prince) to trade
Mogok and Kyatpyin for Tagaungmyo (George, 1915).
1617

The British East India Company makes its first contact with Burma, when Henry Forrest and
John Staveley are sent to recover the goods of a company servant who had died at Syriam
(Stewart, 1972).
1629–1637
Fray Sebastien Manrique visits Arakan, where he said the market was well-stocked in such
things as rubies, sapphires and even "gray" amber (Luard, 1926–27).
1631–1668
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier makes six separate voyages to Asia. Although he does not visit
Burma, his memoirs mention that ruby comes from Capelan (Ball, 1925).
1780
King Bodawpaya sends thousands of captives from the Manipur war to Mogok, to work the
mines. Thereafter the mines become a quasi-penal colony (Halford-Watkins, 1932).
1783
King Bodawpaya extends the tract boundaries to encompass Mogok, Kyatpyin and Kathé
(Brown, 1927).
1795
Michael Symes visits Ava, and mentions ruby mines at a mountain called Woobolootaun
opposite to Keoum-meoum (Symes, 1800).
1824–1826
The first Anglo-Burmese war is won by Britain. The treaty of Yandabo cedes Arakan, Assam
and Tenasserim to the East India Company (Stewart, 1972).
1830
A runaway English sailor in the employ of King Phagyidoa is sent to blast a rock at a royal
ruby mine at Tapambin. He either died at the mines or slipped quietly away, for nothing was
heard of him again (G.S. Streeter, 1889).
1833
Père Giuseppe d'Amato, an Italian Jesuit, visits Chia-ppièn [Kyatpyin] and describes the ruby
mines. His account (published posthumously in 1833) is the first documented eyewitness
description of the ruby mines (d'Amato, 1833).
1852–1853

Britain annexes Pegu, which is taken with few losses in the second Anglo-Burmese war
(Stewart, 1972).
1853
Henry Yule's mission to Ava. He describes, but does not visit, the ruby mines (Yule, 1858).
1853–1878
The reign of King Mindon Min. In 1863, payments in silver are offered Mindon Min for the
sole rights to purchase gems at Mogok. This forced increasing persecution of miners,
resulting in large-scale depopulation of the area by the time of the British annexation
(George, 1915; Halford-Watkins, 1932).
1870
A German mining engineer named Bredemeyer is put in charge of the ruby mines at Sagyin,
near Mandalay (E.W. Streeter, 1892).
1878
King Thebaw takes the throne upon the death of Mindon Min (Stewart, 1972).
1879
Rival members of the royal family are murdered in Mandalay. Britain withdraws its resident
(Stewart, 1972).
1881
A party of Frenchmen under an engineer in Thebaw's employ visit Mogok (G.S. Streeter,
1889).
1882
April: Burmese mission to Simla, in British India, declares to the French Consul from Calcutta
that a Frenchman just obtained from King Thebaw the concession for the Burma ruby mines.
This was probably just a proposal (Preschez, 1967; trans. by Olivier Galibert, June, 1994).
1883–1885
French and Italian speculators negotiate with Thebaw for mining concessions at Mogok. In
Feb., 1884, a French engineer, Alexandre Izambert, goes to Mandalay to solicit concession
for the ruby mines of "Monieh and Rapyen." He offers Rs300,000 for the concession, which
would cover 750 m on both sides of the road between Mandalay and the mines that his
company proposes to build. The deal falls apart, due to a secret agreement between a

Burmese minister and an Italian consular agent (Preschez, 1967; trans. by O. Galibert, June,
1994). Further massacres in Mandalay (Stewart, 1972; Keeton, 1974).
1885
Britain uses the pretext of Mandalay palace massacres and a timber dispute between the
Burmese government and the Bombay-Burma Trading Corp. to invade Upper Burma. The
real reason was fear of French influence in an area thought vital to British interests.
Mandalay is taken on Nov. 29. In December, Edwin W. Streeter becomes interested in
obtaining the concession for the mines (Stewart, 1972; E.W. Streeter, 1892).
1886: Jan. 1
Britain formally annexes Upper Burma. Shortly thereafter, E.W. Streeter forms a syndicate
with Charles Bill and Reginald Beech. They approach the India Office to obtain the
concession for the Mogok mines. Lord Dufferin puts the lease out to tender, which the
Streeter syndicate wins with a bid of Rs400,000 (E.W. Streeter, 1892).
1886: Dec. 26
British military force reaches Mogok area. On Jan. 27, 1887 they enter the town of Mogok.
Accompanying the expedition were G.S. Streeter (E.W. Streeter's son), Col. Charles Bill,
Reginald Beech and engineer Robert Gordon (G.S. Streeter, 1887a). The period between
annexation and the first arrival of British troops is the golden age of local mining. For the
first time in centuries, mining is free and stones can be sold without restrictions (George,
1915).
1887
C. Barrington Brown is sent to Mogok by the Secretary of State for India to determine the
value and conditions of the mines. His report represents the first systematic description of
the deposits (Brown and Judd, 1896).
1889
The Streeter syndicate joins with the Rothschilds to form the Burma Ruby Mines Ltd, which
is floated on Feb. 26. Pandemonium reigns as the offer is oversubscribed fourteen times and
ordinary shares rise to a 400% premium. The £1 founders' shares trade at £350 (P.
Streeter, 1993).
1895
Warth examines ruby mines at Naniazeik, some 80 km west of Myitkyina (Kachin State)
(Penzer, 1922).

1889–1896
Period of the Burma Ruby Mines Ltd first lease, with a profit shown only during 1895–1896
(Brown, 1927).
1897–1904
Period of the second lease, generally profitable (except 1897–98 and 1903) (Brown, 1927).
1905–1912
Period of the third lease, generally profitable (except 1909). A.H. Morgan's drainage tunnel
is finished in 1908, allowing mining of once-flooded alluvials (Brown, 1927).
1913–1925
Period of the supplementary agreement. Losses mount as rich areas are exhausted and the
market slumps due to World War I. Profit is shown only in 1913, 1918 and 1920. Morgan's
drainage tunnel is damaged in 1925 and never reopened. The company goes into voluntary
liquidation on Nov. 20, 1925 (Brown, 1927).
1926–1931
No buyers take the lease. The company continues small-scale mining until June 30, 1931,
when the lease is surrendered (Halford-Watkins, 1932a).
1926–1947
Mining is performed largely by native methods. European-style mining is limited to a few
leased mines.
1938
U Khin Maung Gyi (1938) reports on the Thabeitkyin stone tract west of Mogok. Sporadic
mining had apparently been done for at least 50–60 years previously.
1942: 7 May
Japanese occupy Mogok. Organized mining stops until the British reoccupation (March 15,
1945), but small-scale digging continues (Ehrmann, 1957b).
1948: Jan. 5
Burma achieves independence from British.
1962

General Ne Win stages a military coup, plunging Burma into isolation. Thus begins one of the
20th century's cruelest and longest-running dictatorships, where Ne Win rules in a manner
akin to the 19th-century Burmese kings.
1969: March 12
Burmese Ministry of Mines bans exploration and mining of gems, effectively nationalizing the
country's gem mines. Ruby and jade mining licenses previously issued to prospectors are
revoked (Mining Journal, Annual Review, June, 1970).
1968–1980s
Smuggling increases, with only a fraction of the total output ending up in government
coffers. More Burmese gems are on offer in Bangkok than Rangoon.
1988
Anti-government riots wrack the country. The government crushes the opposition, with
thousands gunned down in Rangoon, Mandalay and other cities.
1989–94
To quell mounting discontent, the military junta begins to liberalize the economy (including
mining) while still maintaining total political control. The name Burma is changed to
Myanmar; Rangoon is changed to Yangon.c
1990: March 9
Private/government mining joint ventures are opened for tender at Mogok (Kane and
Kammerling, 1992). However, smuggling remains widespread as the government's share of
profits is 51.4%.
1991
Rubies are found at Möng Hsu (Shan State). The Thai border town of Mae Sai becomes the
main smuggling point for these gems (Hlaing, 1991). The first foreign gemologists in over 25
years visit Mogok (Ward, 1991).
1994
The government reduces the export tax on gemstones to 15% (U Hla Win, pers. comm., May
2, 1994).
1995

Dismayed by the continued smuggling of Möng Hsu rubies, the Burmese government closes
all ruby markets at Taunggyi, moving legal trading to Rangoon (U Hla Win, pers. comm., 14
Mar., 1995).
1997–Present
Governement policy on gemstone trading vascillates between openness and repression, with
constant policy flip-flops.
a. Möng Mit state is often written as Momeit or Momeik.
b. In those days all payments were made in roughly cast discs of silver, with rupee
coins not coming into general use until about 1874. One viss of silver weighed 3.6
lb (1.6 kg), and was then worth about Rs100. It was subdivided into 100 ticals
(Halford-Watkins, 1934).
c. A common Asian belief is that a change of name will help put a stop to a run of
bad luck, the idea being that the bad spirits cannot find something with a new
name. Thus Ne Win, a notoriously superstitious man, ordered the names of the
capital and country changed after the riots. Of course if those spirits are as smart as
some give them credit for, a name change shouldn't phase them a bit, but that is
another matter for another day.
History
The exact date when rubies were first discovered in Mogok is unknown. No doubt
the first humans to settle the area found rubies and spinels in the rivers and
streams. Kunz (1915) mentions a Burmese legend from the ruby mines.
According to this legend, in the first century of our era three eggs were laid by a female naga,
or serpent; out of the first was born Pyusawti, a king of Pagan; out of the second came an
Emperor of China, and out of the third were emitted the rubies of the Ruby Mines.
Taw Sein Ko, as told to G.F. Kunz (1915)
A similar story is related by Tin and Luce (1960):
At that time spirits carried away a certain hunter. When they reached the place where the
Naga had laid her egg, the hunter finding the egg bore it away joyfully. But while he was
crossing a stream, swollen by a heavy shower of rain till it overflowed its banks, he dropped it
from his hand. And one golden egg broke in the land of Mogok Kyappyin and became iron and
ruby in that country.

P.E.M. Tin & G.H. Luce, 1960
The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma
Early humans at Mogok
Vague references (Ehrmann, 1957) exist suggesting, on the basis of stone relics
unearthed, that the area was first settled by Mongolians about 3000 bc. However it
is likely that humans moved into the area long before that date. Halford-Watkins
(1934) stated that stone, bronze and iron-age tools fashioned from a variety of
jadeite have been found in alluvial diggings throughout the Mogok area.
The karst (sink-hole) topography, with its numerous underground caves, makes
the Mogok area interesting for students of ancient man and prehistoric animal life.
Karst topography has yielded important finds of Peking Man and younger extinct
human types in China, as well as many fossil anthropoid apes. While no important
archeological finds have been found at Mogok, this probably has more to do with
the xenophobic attitude of the Burmese government since 1962 (and the
subsequent decline in all types of academic activity), rather than a lack of study
material. Interesting animal specimens did come to light before the area was closed
off to outside study and it seems likely that further work will reveal further
discoveries (de Terra, 1943).
Hellmut de Terra (1943) made a detailed report on the Pleistocene in the Mogok
area in 1937–38 as part of a study on early man in Burma. No Pleistocene fossils
were found, mainly because intensive mining had not spared even the smallest
limestone fissures. However, in one cave a lower human jaw was found, believed to
be that of a female human prehistoric cave-dweller dating well before the present
people settled the Mogok area. Many Neolithic stone implements were also found,
from the surface of old lake terraces approximately 3.2 km (2 miles) east of the
town of Mogok, or from cave entrances. Certain caves were found to be inhabited
by Buddhist hermits, who had installed shrines in them. One cave was even used
as a cemetery. According to De Terra, "There is no question that the first people to
settle in this area took refuge in the caves, because most of them face a valley that
must have offered a most favorable habitat in prehistoric times. A lake, several
streams and plenty of game, in addition to fertile loamy soils covering several

square miles of flat ground at the valley bottom, would have offered plenty of
inducement to early settlers. Here the chase could have been combined either with
food-gathering or with agricultural practices."
The dragons of Mogok
In the vicinity of the Mogok Caves the
inhabitants relate many tales of buried
dragons and underground spirits, which at
one time are supposed to have taken
refuge underground. The association of
these beasts with the cavities presumably
traces back to some sort of worship, but
today the people are chiefly after gem-
bearing deposits: cave loam and sand. In
the course of these mining operations the
miners often find fossils, teeth of elephants
and deer, or other bones belonging to
animals now extinct. To the local people
fossils are known as "nagá ajó" or dragon
bones. They distinguish several types of
dragons, although none of these seem to
fall within the range of zoölogical
nomenclature. A miner upon finding a
fossil will present his find as a sort of
religious offering to a near-by monastery
or Buddhist shrine, and here it will be
placed before an image. In some cases I
learned that fossil teeth of large size, such
as elephant molars, are worshipped as
"Buddha's teeth," but the monks themselves do not approve of this practice…. Quite
possibly the magic cult came from China where "dragon bones" continue to play an
important role in native pharmacology and superstitious customs….
During my stay at Mogok, it was generally believed by the natives that I had come to
search for a special kind of dragon bone. The result was that after a week's stay, prices for
fossil bones soared, until an elephant's molar was valued as highly as a five-carat ruby! This
attitude did not make it easy for us to acquire much of the cave fauna. At Leu Village,
where I made an attempt to excavate one of the larger caves, the headman told me that
Figure 5. Tunnelling into the limestone in
search of rubies at the Linyaungchi mine in
the Mogok area. (Photo: Thomas Frieden)

years ago, near Pinpyit, miners had come across large bones. They had been so frightened
at the sight of the huge animal remains that they gave up their work, closing the entrance
with a stone wall so that the dragon might not walk out and ravage their village!
Hellmut de Terra, 1943
The Pleistocene of Burma
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society
It is unlikely that any human could live in the Mogok area for long, particularly in
caves, and not discover the gems which have made the area so famous. No doubt,
the first gems collected would be the well-formed red spinel crystals today
termed anyan-nat-thwe (`spirit polished') by locals. Such lustrous crystals need no
fashioning to display their beauty and could not help but attract attention.
Modern history of Mogok
According to G.S. Streeter (1889a), one of the sons of Kun-Lung, founder of the
Shan Dynasty, is said to have governed a state in the 6th century AD, near which
there were ruby mines, and to have paid an annual tribute of 2 viss (about 3.3 kgs)
of rubies to the central government. However, this has not been documented.
Ehrmann (1957) describes a local legend stating that modern Mogok was founded
in 579 AD by headhunting tribesmen from nearby Möng Mit (Momeik). After losing
their way they discovered a "mountain break full of beautiful rubies" when
investigating a commotion made by many birds. This story is similar to that told of
many gem deposits and is believed to derive from Sinbad the Sailor's "Valley of
Precious Stones" in Sri Lanka, or perhaps al-Kazwini's relation of Alexander's valley
of serpents and diamonds in India (Kunz, 1913). In the Burmese version, a fever-
and serpent-ridden valley was found teeming with rubies. Far too dangerous for
mere mortals to enter, the stones were obtained by casting lumps of fresh meat
into the abyss. This attracted large birds of prey who snatched up the meat and
brought it out, along with the rubies adhering to it. They were then retrieved from
the birds' nests and droppings (see box, 'The Valley of Serpents,' Chapter 11).

Figure 6. Spoils of the jungle
A variety of wild game is found in the heavy forest surrounding the Mogok ruby and sapphire mines.
Here Burmese miners return from the hunt with a slain leopard. (From O'Connor, 1905)
The first Europeans arrive
From the earliest times of European contact with East Asia, Burma has been
associated with rubies. Nicolò di Conti, the first European visitor to Ava, described
the king of Ava thus:
The King rideth upon a white Elephant, which hath a chayne of golde about his necke, being
long unto his féete, set full of many precious stones.
Nicolò de' Conti, 1419–1444
from Frampton's Elizabethan translation (Penzer, 1929)
Ludovico di Varthema visited Pegu between 1502 and 1508:
The sole merchandise of these people is jewels, that is, rubies, which come from another city
called Capellan [Ruby Mines District in Burma], which is distant from this thirty days' journey;
not that I have seen it, but by what I have heard from merchants…. Do not imagine that the
King of Pego enjoys as great a reputation as the King of Calicut, although he is so humane and
domestic that an infant might speak to him, and he wears more rubies on him than the value
a very large city, and he wears them on all his toes. And on his legs he wears certain great
rings of gold, all full of the most beautiful rubies; also his arms and his fingers all full. His ears
hand down half a palm, through the great weight of the many jewels he wears there, so that
seeing the person of the king by a light at night, he shines so much that he appears to be a
sun.
Ludovico di Varthema of Bologna (Temple, 1928)

Di Varthema and his party offered the king coral as a gift. This act of generosity
so impressed the king that he gave them over 200 rubies (Temple, 1928).
Duarte Barbosa, visiting Burma about the same time, gave one of the best
accounts of rubies:
Capelam
And yet further inland beyond this city [Ava] and Kingdom there is another Heathen city whith
its own King, who nevertheless is subject and under the lordship of Ava; which city or
Kingdom they call Capelam. Around it are found many rubies which are brought in for sale to
the Ava market, and are much finer than those of that place.
Of Rubies
In the first place rubies are produced in the Land of India and are found chiefly on a river
called Pegu. These are the best and finest, and are called Numpuclo* by the Malabares, and
when they are clean and without flaw they fetch a good price. To test their quality the Indians
put them on the tongue; those which are finest and hardest are held to be the best. To test
their transparency they fix them with wax on a very sharp point and looking towards the sun
they can find any blemish however slight. They are also found in certain deep pits in the
mountains beyond the said river.
In Pegu they know how to clean but not how to polish them, and they therefore convey them
to other countries, especially to Paleacate, Narsinga, Calicut and the whole of Malabar, where there
are excellent craftsmen who cut and mount them.
Dames' annotations
* Pegu Rubies. The name Numpuclo here stated to be used for the Pegu rubies in Malabar is
explained by Mgr. Dalgado in his Glossario. He considers that the initial letter is wrongly given
owing to a copyist's mistake, and that the word should be read chumpuclo, as in Malayalam
the name of the ruby is chuvappukallu from kallu "stone" and chuvappu "ruby," literally "ruby-
stone." For the places where these rubies are found see p. 107 and p. 108.
Duarte Barbosa, ca. 1500–1517 (from Dames, 1858)

The first Englishman to visit Burma
was Ralph Fitch, in 1586, whose
journey led to the founding of the
British East India Company. He said:
Caplan is the place where they finde the
rubies, saphires, and spinelles: it
standeth sixe dayes journey from Ava in
the Kingdome of Pegu. There are many
great high hilles out of which they digge
them. None may go to the pits but onely
those which digge them.
Ralph Fitch, 1586 (in Hakluyt, 1903–05)
Not only did Fitch comment upon
the rubies, but also told of a curious
local custom mentioned by many of
the early European travelers to the area:
In Pegu, and in all the countreys of Ava, Langeiannes, Siam, and the Bramas, the men weare
bunches or little round balles in their privy members: some of them weare two and some
three. They cut the skin and so put them in, one into one side and another into the other side;
which they do when they be 25 or 30 years old, and at their pleasure they take one or more of
them out as they thinke good… The bunches aforesayd be of divers sorts: the least be as big
as a litle walnut, and very round: the greatest are as big as a litle hennes egge: some are of
brasse and some of silver: but those of silver be for the king and his noble men. They were
invented because they should not abuse the male sexe for in times past all those countries
were so given to that villany, that they were very scarse of people.
Ralph Fitch, 1586 (in Hakluyt, 1903–05)
Just how such balls would prevent masturbation or homosexuality is unclear.
But the custom continues into the present day. During one 1980s visit to Burma,
William Spengler met a man who claimed that he had pearls implanted in his
genitals, to heighten sexual pleasure (very pers. comm., 20 March, 1995).
Alexander Hamilton (1744), who traveled to India and Burma in the 18th
century, also had some interesting remarks about the Burmese. In reference to the
sarongs worn by ladies, he said:
Figure 7. A stunning 1734-ct Mogok ruby crystal
sits atop the marble which nurtured it into
existence. (Photo: Thomas Frieden)

Under the Frock they have a Scarf or `Lungee' doubled fourfold, made fast about their Middle,
which reaches almost to the Ancle, so contrived, that at every Step they make, as they walk, it
opens before, and shews the right Leg and Part of the Thigh.
This Fashion of Petticoats, they say, is very ancient, and was first contrived by a certain Queen
of that Country, who was grieved to see the Men so much addicted to `Sodomy,' that they
neglected the pretty Ladies. She thought that by the Sight of a pretty Leg and plump Thigh, the
Men might be allured from that abominable Custom, and place their Affections on proper Objects,
and according to the ingeiuous Queen's Conjecture, that Dress of the `Lungee' had its desired End,
and now the Name of Sodomy is hardly known in that Country.
Alexander Hamilton, 1744
Hamilton also mentioned the products of Burma:
The Product of the Country is Timber for building, Elephants, Elephants Teeth, Bees-wax,
Stick-lack, Iron, Tin, Oyl of the Earth, Wood-oyl, Rubies the best in the World, Diamonds, but
they are small, and are only found in the Craws of Poultry and Pheasants, and one Family has
only the Indulgence to sell them, and none dare open the Ground to dig for them… About
twenty Sail of Ships find their Account in Trade for the limited Commodities, but the
Armenians have got the Monopoly of the rubies, which turns to a good Account in their Trade;
and I have seen some blue Sapphires there, that I was told were found on some Mountains of
this Country.
Alexander Hamilton, 1744

Figure 8. One of the earliest European
maps to show the position of the ruby
mines, based on information provided by
a Burmese slave to Francis Hamilton in
1824. Roman numerals indicate the
average number of stages (walking days)
between points. Although the distances
are relatively accurate, Mogok (`Mogouk')
actually lies further east from Amarapura
(near present-day Mandalay). (Redrawn
by the author from Hamilton, 1824)

GEOLOGICAL INFO COLLECTION OF MYANMAR RUBY by Myo Aung Ex- Exploration Geologist-08-06-2016

GEOLOGICAL INFO COLLECTION OF MYANMAR RUBY by Myo Aung Ex- Exploration Geologist-08-06-2016

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to GEOLOGICAL INFO COLLECTION OF MYANMAR RUBY by Myo Aung Ex- Exploration Geologist-08-06-2016

Similar to GEOLOGICAL INFO COLLECTION OF MYANMAR RUBY by Myo Aung Ex- Exploration Geologist-08-06-2016 (20)

More from MYO AUNG Myanmar

More from MYO AUNG Myanmar (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

GEOLOGICAL INFO COLLECTION OF MYANMAR RUBY by Myo Aung Ex- Exploration Geologist-08-06-2016