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Thursday, 23 February 2012
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Properties of Rubies & Sapphires E-mail

Corundum (Al2O3)

The word corundum originates from the Sanskrit word kurivinda. Corundum is a mineral to which both rubies and sapphires belong. The chemical composition of corundum is aluminium oxide (Al2 O3) with traces of various transition elements such as chromium (Cr). It is these transition elements that are responsible for producing the stone's colour. Chromium produces the finest red colour in rubies and also pink coloured sapphires. Chromium produces some of the finest colours found in many other gems like emeralds, jadeite, and chrome diopside to name a few. Other transition elements found in corundum include iron (Fe), vanadium (V) and titanium (Ti). Gem quality corundum comes in all colours with red corundum described as ruby and all other colours described as a sapphire with the name of the colour as a prefix. 

Cut and polished rubies.

Corundum crystallizes in a hexagonal (trigonal) form with the six crystal faces meeting at 120 degrees.

Physical Properties of Corundum

Refractive Index - 1.762 - 1.770
Birefringence - 0.008 - 0.009
Crystal System - Hexagonal (trigonal)
Optic Character - Uniaxial (-)
Specific Gravity - 3.97 - 4.03
Hardness - 9
Pleochroism - Very Pronounced
Chemical Composition - Aluminium Oxide (Al2 O3)
Cleavage - None
Dispersion - 0.008

  Ruby crystals in marble matrix from Jagdalek in Afghanistan.  

Bipyramid sapphire crystal

Hexagonal bipyramid  sapphire crystal.

The cutting stages of a 13 carat pink sapphire

 

 

A thirteen carat rough pink sapphire crystal, viewed from four different angles.
 
The same stone pre-formed into a drop shape.
 
The finished stone weighing in at over eight carats.
Despite the arrival of modern jigs, there are still miners who wash the gem bearing gravel by hand.
Sorting the sapphire and zircon crystals in Pailin, Cambodia.
A dealer displaying rough sapphire and zircon crystals.

Polishing a sapphire.

 

 
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