For all their beauty, gemstones owe their allure not to any crystalline perfection, but to the inclusions of impurities with a stone's matrix. In the case of rubies, the presence of chromium in the surrounding rock matrix transforms the base corundum mineral into one of the most prized gemstones on our planet.

This pendant is a bead of rough ruby, the red gemstone of corundum. The unpolished material shows the fashionable stone in its most base form: ruby straight from the Earth.

Rubies like these can be found in mountain ranges like the Himalayas and in south eastern Africa, the gem produced by the massive tectonic shifts that produced these orogenies. Beyond their beauty, gems like rubies can be used to speculate on our planet's prehistoric past: a peak into the geological forces that are always shifting just below our feet. Each of these pendants are a testament to the incredible forces of the Earth's crust, and the beauty that these upheavals can create.

The rough ruby is set into a stainless steel bail and includes an 18" chain as well. Each item is shipped in a padded black jewelry box, along with an informational authenticity card.

Deep within the crust of the Earth, rocks grind against each other as the planet’s tectonic plates collide. Over millions of years, the crystal and chemical structures of these rocks change under this pressure, forming something new. Some aluminum-rich rocks can metamorphosize into ultrahard corundum, but with the inclusion of certain impurities, this mineral crystallizes into a brilliant red ruby.

Of the five cardinal gemstones, ruby holds a special place. It is rarer, more durable, and more expensive than a comparable diamond. These precious stones have been valued throughout history, mined in Myanmar’s Mogok Stone Tract, Thailand’s Chanthaburi province near Cambodia, all across Asia, and beyond.

Traders took these gems along the Silk Road, spreading their glamor far and wide for great profit. Even today, rubies hold significant value. In 2015, the 25.5-carat Sunrise Ruby sold for $30,300,000 USD, making it the world’s most expensive colored gemstone.

We may think of these gems as pure geological expressions, but the irony is that their brilliant colors are the result of impurities within the gem’s matrix, ruby’s stunning red tones coming from the appearance of chromium. Another gem, sapphire, differentiates from ruby with iron and titanium impurities that give it a blue color instead.

The ruby’s most valued color is called pigeon blood, a bold red with impressions of blue, but they can also appear with impressions of orange and purple. Beyond its simple beauty, scientists have found many practical uses for ruby too. It was a synthetic ruby that powered the first laser built in 1960. They also aid geologists looking to study the subterranean forces working below our feet.