Diamonds are popular gemstones surrounded by popular misconceptions. We'll tell you how they became so prized and debunk some of those diamond myths, too.
No, sapphires are any color corundum besides red. Red corundum is called ruby. The molecular formula of corundum is Al2O3
If it’s not corundum, it’s not a sapphire. Topaz isn’t a sapphire. Emerald isn’t a sapphire. There are yellow sapphires and green sapphires, but not every yellow or green gemstone is a sapphire.
Not sure from jeweler perspective, they might be hard to put into jewelry.
But synthetic sapphire is relatively easy to produce, enough that it’s used for watch faces.
I’m wearing a watch with a sapphire lens right now! From what I understand, the tradeoff between different watch faces are how easy/hard they are to scratch vs shatter, with sapphire being the most scratch proof and a plastic polymer (I don’t remember which) being the most shatter resistant.
I was going to point out that some of the stones you mentioned are semiprecious stones but it turns out that “gemstone” actually includes precious and semiprecious stones. Also, the distinction between the two is arbitrary and mostly based on how expensive they were in the Copper Age. TIL.
The split of semiprecious vs precious is essentially 18th century marketing BS, it’s not relevant nowadays, even to jewelers.
Some of the most expensive stones aren’t even part of the “precious” stones because they were discovered recently, and since the term is obsolete even to jewelers there’s no one to push the term on those new gems, like Alexandrite (which is more expensive than diamond)
Yep. And basicly all coloured jems are saphires
Not exactly.
Saphirs are Corundum of any colors exept red, because red Corundum are rubies.
So yeah, almost all Zelda games rubies are in fact saphirs.
Emeralds are Beryls, like aquamarines.
No, sapphires are any color corundum besides red. Red corundum is called ruby. The molecular formula of corundum is Al2O3
If it’s not corundum, it’s not a sapphire. Topaz isn’t a sapphire. Emerald isn’t a sapphire. There are yellow sapphires and green sapphires, but not every yellow or green gemstone is a sapphire.
Sapphires are awesome and easy to produce
Really? The jewler and goldsmith told me opposite
Not sure from jeweler perspective, they might be hard to put into jewelry.
But synthetic sapphire is relatively easy to produce, enough that it’s used for watch faces.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire#/media/File:Sapphire_boule,_Kyropoulos_method.jpg
I’m wearing a watch with a sapphire lens right now! From what I understand, the tradeoff between different watch faces are how easy/hard they are to scratch vs shatter, with sapphire being the most scratch proof and a plastic polymer (I don’t remember which) being the most shatter resistant.
They also use them in high-end watches as tiny bearings for the movements IIRC
Correct, if a watch says 17 or 21 jewels that’s what they’re referring to. Although unlike the lens they’re typically a reddish color.
*The red is from them being ruby not sapphire.
Surely all screens should be sapphire then?
They are very hard to scratch, but also probably easier to crack. I’d hate to drop a phone with a sapphire screen.
Sapphire is extremely hard, and thus extremely easy to crack.
Apple used to do that
Remember all the smashed iphones?
Rubies and sapphires are both the same mineral with different impurities but this is very wrong. Tourmaline, garnet, spinel, emerald, topaz, beryl, …?
I was going to point out that some of the stones you mentioned are semiprecious stones but it turns out that “gemstone” actually includes precious and semiprecious stones. Also, the distinction between the two is arbitrary and mostly based on how expensive they were in the Copper Age. TIL.
It’s so arbitrary that Amethyst used to be one of the most expensive precious stones, before huge mines were discovered and it lost its status
The split of semiprecious vs precious is essentially 18th century marketing BS, it’s not relevant nowadays, even to jewelers.
Some of the most expensive stones aren’t even part of the “precious” stones because they were discovered recently, and since the term is obsolete even to jewelers there’s no one to push the term on those new gems, like Alexandrite (which is more expensive than diamond)
Beryl and emerald are also (basically) the same thing. Just different impurities giving a different color.