Many people are happy to pay the higher price for natural gems because they treasure gems that formed naturally within the Earth. If you spend time studying them, you might note that the synthetic gems usually have better clarity and better color than natural gems of similar price. Many of them will likely be synthetic or lab-grown ruby. Today, if you go to a mall jewelry store such as Zales or Kay Jewelers, you will encounter a case with a large assortment of ruby jewelry items for sale. Lab-grown rubies have been in the United States jewelry market since the early 1900s. Lab-grown ruby is very common in jewelry stores in the United States.

Natural rubies have historically been expensive gems, but recent discoveries in Africa bring many attractive natural rubies into the market at affordable prices.

The most desirable and valuable colors are pure red and slightly purplish red. Rubies range in color from orangy-red, to red, to slightly purplish-red. Ruby is the birthstone for the month of July and the world's most popular red gem.