This can create confusion for the edge cases, where a gem might be either a ruby or a sapphire, but most gems are clearly one or the other. However, there is no standard for the exact amount of red that makes a ruby, and crafters or refiners interpret the gems’ colors subjectively to categorize them. Namely, the more chromium a chunk of corundum has, the redder it becomes. Now, the only difference between the ruby and the sapphire is the shade that the corundum takes because of the different amounts of trace minerals. This is also the reason why rubies and sapphires have the same hardness on the Mohs hardness scale. This means that rubies and sapphires are actually the same gems, just colored differently because of the trace minerals that change color. One odd fact about corundum, the mineral that makes sapphires, is that it also makes rubies. For example, the blue color in sapphires comes from a mixture of iron and titanium. These trace minerals alter the color of the sapphires, and different minerals change the color in different ways. This is due to the trace amounts of other minerals present in the corundum that sapphires are made from. However, this picture is not the whole truth, as sapphires can come in all forms of colors. When one thinks of sapphires, the image of a brilliant blue gem often comes to mind. They consist mostly of corundum, along with other trace minerals that stay inside the stone as they form in the earth’s crust. Their potential for beauty when treated correctly and refined well along with their toughness is what makes them so popular as jewelry. Coming in many different hues and shades, they rate second only to diamonds in terms of hardness. Sapphires are gemstones mined from the earth, just like any other gem. There really is just a huge variety in the different colors of sapphires alone, and we will discuss why they occur. Most people think of sapphire as a blue gem, but it can actually be a variety of colors: yellow, blue, black, gray, and blue just to name a few. No two gemstones are alike, even more so when looking at sapphires. However, the different types of gemstones are not the end of the variance, as each gemstone has its own differences and uniqueness. There is a great variety of gemstones in the world, from diamonds to topaz, and all the way to sapphires.

Ruby and sapphire gemstones