Rubies

The ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum. The red color caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum called sapphires. The ruby considered one of the four precious stones, together with the sapphire, the emerald, and the diamond. All natural rubies have imperfections in them, including color impurities and inclusions of rutile needles known as silk. Gemologists use these needle inclusions found in natural rubies to distinguish them from synthetics, simulants, or substitutes. Usually the rough stone heated before cutting. Almost all rubies today treated in some form, with heat treatment being the most common practice. However, rubies that are completely untreated but still of excellent quality command a large premium. The Price of rubies primarily is by color. The brightest and most valuable red called pigeon blood red, commands a huge premium over other rubies of similar quality. After color follows clarity: similar to diamonds, a clear stone will command a premium, but a ruby without any needle-like rutile inclusions may indicate that the stone been treated. Cut and carat also determine the price. In the evaluation of colored gemstones, color is the single most important factor. Color divides into three components, hue, saturation and tone. Hue refers to color as we normally use the term. Transparent gemstones occur in the following hues: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, purple and pink are the spectral hues. The first six are spectral hues; the last two are modified spectral hues. Purple is a hue that falls halfway between red and blue. Pink is a paler shade of red. In nature there are rarely pure hues so when speaking of the hue of a gemstone we speak of primary and secondary and sometimes tertiary hues. In ruby the primary hue must be red. All other hues of the gem species corundum called sapphire. Ruby may exhibit a range of secondary hues. Orange, purple, violet and pink are possible.

Celebrity

A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention. The word stems from the Latin verb "celebrere" but they may not become a celebrity unless public and mass media interest is piqued. There are degrees of celebrity status which vary based on an individual's region or field of notoriety. While someone might be a celebrity to some people, to others they may be completely unknown. A global celebrity on the other hand is someone who is known by most people or is a mainstream celebrity. Such celebrities are also known as either a household name or superstar. For example, Virgin Director Richard Branson was famous as a CEO, but he did not become a global celebrity until he attempted to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon and generate publicity for himself. Another high profile categorisation of celebrity status is the A-list, based on the marketability of celebrities. Generally speaking, a celebrity is someone who seeks media attention and most frequently have extroverted personalities. The desire to be famous is implied by some to be a part of western culture and more specifically the American Dream as a measure of success. Celebrities that shy away from the public eye or keep a very seperate private life are called a reluctant celebrity. A notable example is Kurt Cobain. On the oher end of the spectrum, those that seek out publicity for themselves are often called a media tart whereas those that use their private life as a vehicle for enhanced celebrity status, sometimes desperately, are referred to as a media whore. Examples of this are fake or planned relationships, reality television appearances, celebrity nudity and in extreme cases, scandal or celebrity sex tape. There are a wide range of ways people can become celebrities, from their profession, appearances in the mass media, beauty or even by complete accident or infamy. Instent celebrity is the term that is used when someone becomes a celebrity in very short period of time. In some places, someone that somehow achieves a small amount of transient fame through hype or mass media, is stereotyped as a B-grade celebrity. Often the stereotype extends to someone that falls short of mainstream or persistent fame but seeks to extend or exploit it.