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Some students select their birthstone as the center stone of their high school or college class ring. These sets are popular birthday and graduation gifts. Three-piece sets that include a birthstone ring, pendant, and pair of earrings are sold in many stores. The first jewelry item that many children receive is often a birthstone ring, earrings, or pendant. In the United States alone, consumers buy millions of dollars' worth of birthstone jewelry every month. Wearing and gifting birthstone jewelry is a long-standing custom in many countries. Mother's Birthstone Ring: A Mother's Ring displaying a lab-grown birthstone for each of her children. August Birthstones: Peridot, Spinel, and Sardonyx Others are happy with the great appearance and lower price of lab-created gems. Many people are happy to pay the higher price for natural gems because they treasure gems that formed naturally within the Earth. If you spend time studying them, you might note that the synthetic gems usually have better clarity and better color than natural gems of similar price. Many of them will likely be synthetic or lab-grown ruby.
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Today, if you go to a mall jewelry store such as Zales or Kay Jewelers, you will encounter a case with a large assortment of ruby jewelry items for sale. Lab-grown rubies have been in the United States jewelry market since the early 1900s. Lab-grown ruby is very common in jewelry stores in the United States. Natural rubies have historically been expensive gems, but recent discoveries in Africa bring many attractive natural rubies into the market at affordable prices. The most desirable and valuable colors are pure red and slightly purplish red. Rubies range in color from orangy-red, to red, to slightly purplish-red. Ruby is the birthstone for the month of July and the world's most popular red gem.
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