Spotlight on July’s Birthstone: Ruby

Creating jewelry using birthstone colors is a lovely way to personalize a design, whether for yourself or as a gift. If you are selling your designs, this is a nice way of creating a connection with your customer. Every month has an associated birthstone and we have created a birthstone guide detailing which birthstone coordinates to which month. For the month of July, that birthstone is the ruby. (Our guide also includes suggestions for Austrian crystal colors and other corresponding colors to use.)

Rubies can range in color from a pink or purple red to an orange red, all the way to a deep saturated red. This deep red is often called pigeon’s blood and is traditionally the most sought-after color of ruby. Throughout history rubies have been a highly desirable gemstone, thought to bring prosperity and protection. They are also a symbol of love and are often used in engagement rings.

If you want to incorporate July’s birthstone into jewelry designs, there are several easy ways of doing so. You can use ruby gemstones, like those by Dakota Stones which have nice, evenly drilled holes. You can also find the ruby color in crystal beads and pendants as well as Czech glass beads and seed beads. If you wanting to use crystal beads, PRESTIGE crystals are a great choice in either their Ruby, Scarlet, Light Siam, or Siam shade. All four of these colors nicely capture the feel of ruby. If you are seeking out seed beads that capture the feel of ruby, you can try searching for the terms dark red, ruby, cherry, garnet, cranberry, and Siam. You can also look at all seed beads and select the red color family filter and find the shade you want. For Czech glass beads, try searching for "ruby czech glass" and you will be pleasantly surprised by the number of results. 

Below are my 10 favorite “ruby” beads to use in designs: