Scientifically, there is no difference! Both Sapphire and Ruby are exact same mineral: Corundum.
The only difference is the trace elements present during their formation.
If corundum has traces of chromium, it turns red and is called a Ruby.
If it has traces of iron and titanium, it turns blue (or yellow, pink, green) and is called a Sapphire.
“Ethical mining” is a growing movement in the industry. It involves mining practices that are fair to workers (providing safe conditions and fair wages) and environmentally responsible (reclaiming land, planting trees, and protecting water sources). When buying, it is always best to ask if your jeweler can trace the stone back to a certified or…
Opals are unique because they don’t have a single solid color. When light hits the internal structure of an opal—which consists of tiny silica spheres—the light bends and splits, creating flashes of every color of the rainbow that seem to jump and dance as you rotate the stone. This phenomenon is strictly called “Play-of-Color.”
Inclusions are like a gemstone’s “fingerprints.” They are tiny bits of other minerals or liquids trapped inside the stone while it was growing underground millions of years ago. Common inclusions include:
In the professional world of gem grading, “eye-clean” is a term used to describe a colored gemstone that has no visible inclusions (flaws) when viewed by the naked eye from a distance of about 6 to 12 inches. If you need a magnifying glass to see the internal marks, it is considered very high-quality.
This magical-looking trait is caused by the way certain stones absorb different wavelengths of light depending on the light source. The most famous example is Alexandrite, which looks green or bluish-green in natural sunlight, but turns purplish-red under incandescent indoor lighting. This is known as the “Alexandrite Effect.”
Sri Lanka currently holds the record for producing some of the world’s most massive sapphires. In 2021, the “Serendipity Sapphire” was accidentally discovered by workmen digging a well in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. It is a massive cluster of pale blue star sapphires weighing around 510 kilograms (over 2.5 million carats). Another famous Sri Lankan stone…