3 Things I Bet You Didn’t Know About Ruby Gemstones

1.     There’s No Place Like Home!

Everybody knows about the famous Ruby Slipper that Dorothy yoinked from the shriveling Wicked Witch of the East, and then later clicked her heals together while wearing them to return home. But did you know that that the House of Harry Winston replicated Dorothy’s beloved ruby slippers with REAL RUBIES! These over-the-top shoes are valued at $3 million and were created to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz.  With 4,600 genuine Ruby Gemstones, totaling 1,350 carats paired with 50 carats of diamonds, these Ruby slippers are the most expensive shoes of all time! Interestingly, one of the actual pairs of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the movie (there were seven pairs in all) were auctioned for $666,000.

2.     Ruby Red Battle Gear?

Historically, gemstones have oft been tied into superstitions, and throughout the ages, certain gems have been used as charms or amulets for various purposes. However, the Burma warriors took this concept to an extreme. Now known as Myanmar, Burma has been a ruby source since 600 AD and Burmese Rubies are famed for their intense “pigeon’s blood” color. Anyway, fighters in Burma would acquire Rubies which they believed gave them the ability to conquer their enemy.  Yet wearing a ruby amulet or carrying around some sort of talisman did not suffice for these warriors. Instead, their custom was to make the Ruby part of their body by inserting them into their flesh! Yes, admittedly that was pretty gross, but hey, I betcha didn’t know that!

3.     “Laser”

If anyone is wondering why there are quotes around the word “laser”, it’s homage to the hilarious Dr. Evil who wanted “to have sharks with friggin' laser beams attached to their heads”. If you are confused, I’m sure there are some YouTube clips that can clear up that reference. Back to rubies, did you know that the first laser was a ruby laser, invented in 1960 by Theodore Maiman in the Hughes Research Lab in California? By shinning a high powered flash lamp on a Ruby rod with silver coated surfaces, the first laser beam was born.  While I’m not sure that they’ve made their way to shark’s heads, lasers are being used everywhere and from the cutting edge of quantum physics to the supermarket checkout counter. And it all started with a Ruby!