Description

A Ruby is a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminum oxide).  The color comes mainly from the chromium element.  The Ruby is considered one of the four precious stones, together with the sapphire, the emerald, and the diamond.  Rubies were found for centuries in Burma.  They have also been found in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Vietnam, Nepal and Pakistan.  Rubies have been found in the US states of Montana, North and South Carolina.

Kyanite is a typically blue Silicate mineral that is commonly found in Aluminum rich metamorphic pegmatites and/or sedimentary rock. It is used primarily in refractory and ceramic products including porcelain plumbing fixtures and dinnerware. It is also used in electrical insulators and abrasives. It is definitely a collector’s mineral.

Fuchsite is a green variety of Muscovite Mica. It differs from most other Muscovite by having a variable amount of trivalent Chromium substituting for Aluminum within the mineral. Chromium is the source of Fuchsite’s green color. It sometimes has Ruby Crystals which are completely opaque and unsuitable as gemstones but are well colored and contrast strikingly against the green matrix of the Fuchsite.