They’re the red birthstone for the month of July, they’re used in lasers and were even used in ancient battles–they’re rubies! It takes a lot of hard work to mine for rubies and even more hard work to turn them into sparkling gems. Readers will learn about the many steps it takes to find, cut, and polish these gems. Vivid photographs show the work that goes into finding rubies and the glittering results of that work.