Large gem quality rubies can be more valuable than comparably sized diamonds and are certainly rarer in fact smaller blue sapphires 1 3 cts are relatively abundant compared to small gem quality rubies.
Are rubies rare.
Ranking a 9 on the mohs scale of hardness diamond is a 10 corundum has been mined extensively for abrasives.
All rubies are rare but those from myanmar formerly burma set the standard for quality and color.
Today s discerning collectors are looking for jewelry that emphasizes rare striking and sometimes almost impossible to find stones.
Now corundum is a fairly common mineral.
While rubies from thailand contain relatively high iron content which can result in overly dark reds with brownish or purplish overtones the geological conditions in myanmar generally produce rubies with very little trace iron.
In nature diamonds are rare but not so in the gem world.
The emery on your emery boards and sand paper may contain.