Watch a video of this specimen by following the Vimeo link below: https://vimeo.com/1168567012/dfc298ecbe Ruby is one of the two precious varieties of corundum, along with sapphire. This sought after red gemstone has been extracted since the 8th century BC in Sri Lanka and has been adorning the royal families jewels in India and around the world, up to the present day. The name corundum derives from 'kuruntam' in Tamil, the language spoken in south east India. Ruby is probably also the most valuable colourful gemstone, whether is it as cut stone or mineral specimen. Here is a very good specimen diplaying several ruby crystals (up to 1 cm large) of very rich colour in calcite matrix, from the Jegdalek deposit, Hindu Kush mountain range! Ex coll. Bac. Jean-Pierre Bac was a highly active regional field prospector in the departments of Cantal, Aveyron, and Lot from the 1970s through the 2010s. He became a specialist of Curebourse and Enguialès, having developed a close relationship with the family who owned the latter mine. Several specimens from his Curebourse collection were illustrated and published in Le Règne Minéral (1999, issue 29). He also made several remarkable and unusual discoveries in a quarry near Miécaze. Another part of his collection consisted of carefully selected international specimens acquired from French mineral dealers during that period.