"It's in my opinion an utterly graceless piece of jewelry, a pedestrian design poorly executed, unrefined and unbalanced. There's literally nothing about it, I don't detest."

That's true - ugly!

But what do with a lot of small single rubies?
I believe, a redo with large navette diamonds, like this, but in white gold only or platinum:
Vanderbilt Boucheron Ruby Diamond Tiara