Indian gem treatises refer to rubies as Manickam. The varieties of the stone were classified on the basis of colour and purity. Here are some sample names:
Padmaraga - Red like lotus
Kuruvinda - Intense red
Saungandhika - a yellowish red
Jamuniya - a purplish red
An alternative to rubies was the Spinels, which are generally found in the same ruby mines - they are lighter in colour and found in larger sizes.
The typical addigai in Tamilnadu in yesteryears had cabochon Burmese rubies set singly in a closed setting. And you how the colour was described?
"The manickas have the color of the drop of blood
Shed on the white neck of a wounded dove".
The pigeon's blood ruby is the most coveted of all rubies. And the vivid crimson hues of the stones from Burma went into these addigais.
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