Ruby Inclusions

[icpa1]

Hello all!

I am a lurker who recently discovered colored stones. I just wanted to ask if it was possible to tell if a ruby is natural or man-made based on its inclusions. You see, I picked up a preloved ruby ring recently. The seller says that the ruby is natural. I did find some inclusions (please see pic), but being a newbie, I was hoping one of the experts here could weigh in with their thoughts on whether the ruby is natural (treated is fine with me) or man-made.

Incidentally, the pic shows the inclusions in one part of the ruby only. There are more inclusions across the stone, but these are smaller and more difficult to photograph.

Thanks!

 

[arkieb1]

Plenty of rubies are "natural" but they have been filled with lead glass or heavily treated. You can usually tell this by the small bubbles in the stone if you have a scope or a loupe powerful enough to look. Some links to read;

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/difference-between-h-and-h-a-in-ruby-treatment.209965/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/difference-between-h-and-h-a-in-ruby-treatment.209965/[/URL]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/corundum-sapphire-and-ruby-treatment.175354/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/corundum-sapphire-and-ruby-treatment.175354/[/URL]

Heavily treated rubies are not worth much more than synthetic ones...