Ruby And Sapphire Mineral

Trace amounts of impurities determine if a gem corundum will be a brilliant red ruby or a beautiful blue sapphire.

Ruby and sapphire mineral.

Sapphire is also only used to describe the gem variety. Rubies are made of corundum. Some other minerals such as kyanite cordierite iolite andalusite sillimanite and staurolite are all aluminum rich silicates created at high metamorphic pressures and temperatures. Otherwise it is simply called corundum.

Since they are the same mineral sapphire and ruby are often found together. Pink corundum is sometimes referred to as pink sapphire and other times is referred to as pink ruby depending on the hue region and personal opinion. So all i had to do was to take hagner s book and visit all of the vermiculite deposits i could in wyoming. Ruby sapphire and fancy sapphire most people don t realize that ruby and sapphire are both gems of the mineral corundum.

Called corundum low grade rubies and sapphires were mined commercially for abrasives i e. Sandpaper and gave work to many men. Ruby gets its red coloring from trace amounts of chromium. Corundum comes in many other colors but those colors are classified as sapphires.

Sapphire is far more common variety as ruby requires a specific element and an appropriate host rock to supply its essential chromium. Corundum and other minerals such as mica and kaolin were hauled to the railroad by horse and wagon and shipped out of macon county in large quantities. A large sapphire or ruby at the native mines start at about 10 carats and a big haul of stones is about 50 to 100 carats in a day. In essence ruby is a red sapphire since ruby and sapphire are identical in all properties except for color.

Sapphires and rubies are both gem varieties of the mineral corundum. The ruby and sapphire impostor spinel is a gemstone mineral that has been confused with ruby and sapphire for over 1000 years. Ruby is the red variety and sapphire is the variety that encompasses all other colors although the most popular and valued color of sapphire is blue. Mining for ruby and sapphire began in macon county in 1870.

Corundum ruby and sapphire is aluminum oxide. The geologic literature does not mention emeralds topaz aventurine sodalite etc. As being found in macon county personal communication with the nc geological survey western office. Gems generally get their colour because of certain metals or impurities contained in the mineral.

For all practical purposes it is the hardest mineral after diamond making it the second hardest. Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum. Both of these gemstones have the same chemical composition and the same mineral structure. Corundum gemstone family corundum is a mineral species that includes two world s most precious gemstones ruby and sapphire.

They have the same chemical composition and structure. Corundum is a very hard tough and stable mineral.