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Can you give me any information on the pigeon blood ruby.
The pigeon blood is the most required color for the ruby. It was found until recently in Burma, but in 2000 a deposit of ruby which the best quality is similar to that of the valley of Mogok in Burma has been discovered in Madagascar.                                
Do you find that Rubellite from Madagascar is superior than from
other parts of the world ?
In Madagascar, there is several types of rubellite. Some deposits produce or produced rubellites in small quantity which the color is close to that of the famous pigeon blood ruby. I have never seen such qualities nowhere elsewhere in the world.                     
What language is Rubillite derived from? Is it Italian ?  
The word rubellite comes from Latin (rubellus). It means: which draws on the red.    
I have never heard of polychromatic tourmaline before. 
- does it have a poly coating or something ?
Concerning your request : polychromatic tourmaline results of growth zoning inside the tourmaline. Kindly take a look at our page : http://www.gggems.com/tourmaline_characteristics.htm                                        
What do you know about star stones ?  
The Star phenomenon comes from tiny rods of rutile in the stone.
Are 65 plus carrats star rubies very rare?
What do you mean by enhancements in star rubies?

Following your recent inquiry, the rarity of a star ruby is not a question of size only. Several characteristics are required to make an expensive star ruby:

1. Clarity, is this stone opaque or translucent? more transparent is the stone; more valuable is the star ruby.

2. Color, what is the color, violetish, reddish-gray, or red ?

3. Star, is it sharp ?

4. Cutting, is the star centered ? Is the bottom of the stone flat or very convex? Is the geometry of the stone accurate?

5. The weight of the stone.

A big star ruby that displays the best of these 5 points is exceptional.

For example, a record selling price for faceted ruby was set at Christie's in St. Moritz on February 15. 07. when an 8.62 carat cushion-cut ruby realized a price of $425,000 per carat.

Rubies are routinely heat treated in Asia in order to enhance their color and transparency.

Star rubies are also enhanced by the same way, but sometimes they are heat treated to develop silks, (rutile needles) in order to produce a star.

On GGGems the indication: Enhancement: none (N) means that the stone is not treated in any way, unheated, 100% natural. We will guarantee this.
If a sapphire says "natural blue" in its description does that mean it's light colored, or is it a Ceylon or ??  Thanks

Following your inquiry, natural blue sapphire usually means that the sapphire is not heat treated. (This is relatively rare on the market.)

Usually, rubies and sapphires are routinely treated in order to enhance their color and clarity.

A 100% natural sapphire is marked Enhancement: none (N) A genuine or natural but heat treated sapphire is marked Enhancement: (H) heated.

The origin of our stones is always indicated below their prices.

Note that many sapphires sold as Ceylon sapphire on the market come from Madagascar ( Ilakaka ) which is the main sapphire producer in the world.   http://www.gggems.com/ilakaka.htm
I just received my pear shaped sapphire in today and I must say, I’m impressed. I usually only buy Ceylons but this one displays a beautiful color. Let me ask you. Why is it that stones from Madagascar can sell for 1-3 hundred but a Ceylon or Australian can go into the thousands.
The price difference between a Madagascar sapphire and a Sri-lankan or Burma sapphire is due to the reputation of these two last origins. It is like in the wine business. For instance, the reputation of a Bordeaux is higher than some same wines from other countries; it is a question of brand image. Thai and Sri-Lankan merchants hide very carefully the quality of Madagascar gemstones. The sapphire you purchased from us come from Ilakaka, it was found in sandstones but its origin is a metamorphic marble.
What the origin is and how long gemstone therapy has been around.  
The origin of gemstone therapy has been around for ages, perhaps at the beginning of the humanity. But, the New Age which began in the seventies, was the start of the modern gemstone therapy.                                                                                 http://www.gggems.com/litho_therapy_gemstone_healing.htm                               
Does apatite produce sulfur or make a fertilizer?

Apatite is a fluorophosphate of Calcium.  It is exploited for chemistry and fertilizer.     

http://www.gggems.com/apatite.htm
Is the beryl known for a long time ?       
The beryl is known for a very long time, certainly several millenniums.  The origin of the word aquamarine comes from Latin aqua marina, (sea water) introduced into the literature in 1604 by Boèce de Boot who translated an Italian expression of XVIth century.  In India, the aquamarine was regarded as an amulet and in the old Egypt, it was carved in talisman.                                                                            
Which is more expensive a malaya garnet, a dematoid garnet or a color change garnet?
Which is the GENUINE Mandarin garnet - spessartite or malaya?
Without doubt, the dematoid garnet is more expensive, but it depends on its quality and on its size, note that dematoid garnet is generally found in small sizes.                
Usually the term of mandarin garnet is used with vivid orange spessartite, but some merchants sell orange Malaya garnet as mandarin garnet, actually, some oxides revealing the color of these two stones are same especially the Manganese.
http://www.gggems.com/madagascan_garnets.htm
Please tell me what is meant by "Cabochon".

The word cabochon comes from Latin (caput). What means: head. This is a stone which is not faceted cut but just rounded and polished. This kind of cut is generally used with included material.                                                                             

Are inclusions common in pink tourmalines?
Inclusions are common in Madagascan pink tourmalines and rubellites especially.        
What is the background of the gemstone ruby??
Chemical properties: the corundum is composed of pure alumina; AL2O3 its Crystallographic properties: Trigonal Uniaxial and optically negative. ng = 1,7675; 
Np = 1,7593   Refractive index: 1.76 - 1.77
For more information, feel free to visit the following page :
http://www.gggems.com/Madagascan_corundum.htm
How hard are Rubellites compared to a ruby or a diamond? How do they hold 
up to daily wear; are they fragile or can they be worn daily?  And finally, how 
do you care for rubellites? (I LOVE these stones!)
The hardness of rubellite is 7.5 on the Mohs scale, the ruby is 9 and the diamond is 10 on the Mohs scale.
Rubellite is tourmaline family, the tourmaline is hard enough to be set on a ring.           
 What determines the quality of a ruby stone?  
  
What color is best?
The quality of a ruby is determined by its clarity ( the inclusions ).And by its color.
Ruby is generally more included than sapphire. We can find often rutile needles or even nests of rutile needles inside the ruby, that will alter the transparency of the stone.
Rutile needles are developed during the growth of the stone and it represent the nature of the ruby.
The best color is the pigeon blood, an intense red that we can find in Burma and in Madagascar.
Picture of a trapped baguette?

Following your recent inquiry, you can see a sketch of a trapped baguette at the following page:  http://www.gggems.com/special_cutting_styles.htm                                   

What are "naturally" the rarest stones.  I understand that diamonds are not 
actually the rarest, but because of some sort of control-the-supply situation, 
the price is driven up, but they are not the rarest.  I heard that some of the 
semi-precious are "naturally" rarer than diamonds.  Is this true ?

According to your request, the expensive stones are not the rarest. As you written it, this is a question of market. But not only a question of control by few companies.

It is a question of demand too.

Only collectors and specialists usually know the rarest stones, then, demand is not so high for this kind of stones.

Furthermore the hardness of stones is also something important, for instance, some rare stones are not hard enough to be set on jewel.

In white color some rare stones which are hard enough to be set on jewel are 
Hambergite, Rhodizite and also phenakite. Kindly take a look at our pages:

http://www.gggems.com/hambergite.htm

http://www.gggems.com/rhodizite.htm
http://www.gggems.com/penakite.htm
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