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Another famous "ruby" in the British crown jewels is the gem called the Timur Ruby or Tribute of the World, named for Tamerlane (Timur the Lame), who conquered India in 1398. Among his booty cartload of jewels that contained an enormous ruby of more s30 carats. Engraved on its back were the names of all the 11 who had owned it. A subsequent owner was the Emperor shah Jehan of India, builder of the Taj Mahal.
The Timur Ruby finally found its way to the British East India Company, which gave it to -i Victoria in 1851. The gem was mounted in a necklace and thus Joined the rest of the crown jewels. Experts have since found w Tribute of the World, like the Black Prince's Ruby, is a spinel.
The intrinsic qualities
are what make both gems spinels and not But it took modern gemology to
find that out.
Other qualities or characteristics are not intrinsic. They may be important
to a knowledge of gems and to you individually, yet they little bearing
on the nature of gems. Beauty and rarity, for while, are not intrinsic.
Beauty, all too often, is in the eye of the beholder, and rarity is no
criterion except of cost.
Cut it is not intrinsic, either. The way a gem is cut is hardly a characteristic of gems in general or of specific gems. Gems, after all, " t always been cut, and some gems are still polished and never cut.
Size, including weight as a determinant of size, is also not intrinsic come in all sizes. The only size with which a consumer concerned is the size or weight of the stone that he or she is buying. =or all of these reasons, cut and size will be considered separately.
