Gübelin Grades an Exceptional Vietnamese Ruby with “Pigeon’s Blood” Color
How does Vietnamese ruby compare to Burmese ruby? Learn about the "Red Treasure" of Vietnam and why even experts can misidentify ruby origins.
2 Minute Read
The “Red Treasure” of Vietnam
Phuong Thu Lê is a third-generation Vietnamese gemstone trader. Her grandfather brought her father, Le Van Hoan, to the famed Luc Yen mining area as a teenager. There, they started a small gem trading business in the late 1980s.
Phuong and her family decided to name their exceptional 6.91-ct unheated pigeon’s blood ruby the “Red Treasure” of Vietnam. It was cut from a 10.87-ct rough from the Billion Hill mine in the Nghe An Province, a few hundred kilometers southwest of Hanoi.
Burmese vs Vietnamese Rubies
When describing the “Red Treasure,” fifth-generation Mogok ruby dealer Miemie Tin Htut of Silken East Co., Ltd. in Bangkok commented:
This 6.91-ct Vietnamese ruby is very reminiscent of the highly fluorescent, vivid pigeon’s blood red colors produced from the renowned Baw Lone Gyi mine in Mogok, Burma.
Phuong reports that top labs in Switzerland
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Jeffery Bergman, SSEF SGC
Jeffery Bergman, SSEF SGC, founder and director of 8th Dimension Gems in Thailand, is an American gem dealer with more than 40 years of experience in gemstone and fine jewelry mining, cutting, wholesaling and retailing. His career has taken him to more than 50 countries and every continent except Antarctica. He has appeared on the BBC, CNN, NBC, ABC and GEO; and has been featured in Time, USA Today, National Geographic, Gems & Gemology and Discovery Channel magazine. He is a regular guest speaker at gem lab seminars and gemological association conferences and universities.
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