Rubies – The Birthstone for July

Lucky are those who are born in July, as ruby is the July gemstone! The word ruby is derived from the later word “ruber” meaning red. So what are rubies? Rubies are aluminum oxide, a variety of corundum. It occurs in medium to dark tones of red to violet red to brownish red. Rubies have a hardness of 9 and only diamond is harder at a 10.