Addigai, the gem of Tamilnadu

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.