Indeed, ruby is colored corundum, just like sapphire. These elements can be iron (Fe), titanium (T), chromium (Cr), vanadium (V), or magnesium (Mg).Ībove, you can see the cristaline structure of corundum wihout any trace of chemincal elements determining its colorīecause of these chemical elements, corundum can take on any color, with the particularity of being called ruby when this color is red and sapphire in all other cases (blue sapphire and fancy sapphire) Sapphire is a mineral, called corundum, which is aluminum oxide (Al2O3) whose crystalline structure has traces of other chemical elements giving it its crystal color.

Lab created Sapphires (synthetic versus natural sapphires)ġ.This article is a complete guide to help you discover what corundum is, what are the different types of sapphires and their colors as well as to help you know the quality criteria of sapphire and have an idea of its price. View of a blue raw sapphire on the left and a pear cut blue sapphire on the rightīlue sapphire is the most used of the precious stones in jewelry while people are generally not aware of the different types of sapphire colors, or quality criteria of sapphire stones. It is characterized by a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, just after moissanite which has a hardness of 9.5, and below diamond which has a hardness of 10. Sapphire is actually a variety of corundum with traces of other chemical elements that give it its color. In fact, there are many varieties of sapphire gemstone that can be of any color, from white (or colorless) to green. Blue sapphire is by far the colored gemstone the most used in jewelry.įor most people, sapphire means blue sapphire as this is the most famous type of sapphire stone.

sapphire) and certainly the best known with diamond. Sapphire is one of the four most precious gemstones (which are diamond, ruby, emerald, and.

Natural black sapphire