The ruby is sought after all over the world because of its unique red color. The gemstone is a red variety of the mineral corundum. The color of the ruby also gave it its name, because the word ruby comes from the Latin word "rubens" for "red". In the Bible and in ancient Sanskrit writings, the ruby is described as the most valuable of all gemstones. To this day, the stone is gilded as particularly valuable, because large ruby stones are rarer to find than large diamonds.
