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A quick disclaimer. I did an article about 8 months ago with a similar theme. Alas ... I discovered this too late to re-write this week's Tidbits. The good news ... redundancy can have it's own rewards ... aside from which much of what is here is new. Therefore ... rejoice in the celebration of partial repetitiveness.
Drops of Frozen Wine
"... they are drops of frozen wine from Eden's vats ...." by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
He was speaking--of course--of rubies. Of the precious colored gemstones--in its finest state--it is the most rare and valuable ... surpassing even the diamond. Tavernier said that when a ruby exceeds 6 carats and is perfect it is sold for whatever is asked for it.
The best of them are mined in the Mogok region of Burma for it is here that the most ideal of geological conditions exist required to produce the exceptional color for which these rubies are prized. The mining area is small ... and today nearly if not totally depleted.
The magical and medicinal qualities of these stones is not to be underestimated. The wearer of such a stone will be endowed with health and wisdom and happiness. Of course one could take the view that the wealth one would have to have to afford such a stone could only be acquired by great wisdom which would on one hand afford great happiness and on the other hand afford the services of the finest medical minds. For the cynical of mind and body ... this might well be construed to be one of those chicken and the egg things and which came first. This is of course utter nonsense ... magic exists and lives well inside the heart of the finest of rubies.
In olden times people of the east would insert a ruby into a cut in the skin believing--quite rightly I might add--that the stone would infuse into their blood great courage. I personally do not believe that there lives on this earth a human with cowardly traits who has had a ruby inserted into his skin. This is proof enough of the effects of this stone for me ... as it should be for you.
It was a remedy for too many a number of ailments to be mentioned in this brief ezine. It has always been--as a statement of utter redundancy --a symbol of great wealth. Duh.
In the year 1932 a 8.59 carat octagonal-cut gem ruby and shield-shaped diamond platinum ring was made by Tiffany. The ruby was of Burmese origin with no indication of thermal treatment. The ruby's value in
1998 was $800,000.As chance would have it ... I have an image of said ring. Can you believe this? Fortuitousness knocks on my door daily.
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And there ya have it. That's it for this week folks. Catch you all next week. Benjamin Mark
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