Did you know that rubies and sapphires are two of the most popular gemstones in the world?
Although they come from the earth and share the vast majority of the same characteristics other than color, there are only a few minute differences that make them different.
As a matter of fact one could ask the question; which came first, the ruby or the sapphire??
In this article, we will discuss what these “two” gemstones have in common and why people love them so much, but also why there is such a price difference between the two when the colors are truly the only differing factors.
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What Are Rubies and Sapphires?
Rubies and Sapphires have been around forever it seems.
While the ruby is often touted as being a preferred gemstone due to its color, sapphires come naturally in a vast array of colors.
The gemstone trade has given distinguishing names so that we can know which color of corundum that we are referring to when we speak about a particular gemstone in this family.
The ruby and the sapphire are from the same family, so let’s look more closely at them:
How Rubies and Sapphire Are Similar
Whether you’re in the market for a ruby or a sapphire, you’re in for a treat. Both are classic gemstones with a long and illustrious history. Here are some things these two beautiful stones have in common:
Rubies and Sapphires Are Both Corundum
Corundum is the chemical composition of both of these two gemstones. Both are made of alumina and oxygen, but they just differ in color.
When a corundum is red, it is classified as being a ruby.
When it is blue or any other color than red, it is called a sapphire.
Rubies and Sapphires Have The Same Hardness
Diamond hardness is rated at a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. This is the hardest substance known to man. Rubies and sapphires both are rated as a 9 on the scale, making them the only two gemstones that reach near the hardness of a diamond.
Rubies and Sapphires Have The Same Structural Growth
These two gemstones grow at the same rate because they have the same growth structure.
A ruby or sapphire that has been grown in a lab as opposed to grown in the earth over thousands of years still, nevertheless, have the same structural growth, making it difficult to be able to tell them apart without being a Gemologist.
They Both Contain Similar Inclusions
These inclusions do not necessarily devalue the stones in the same way that a diamond would be unless the inclusions block the ability of light to pass through the stones.
Both rubies and sapphires are graded higher for their hue or color and their translucence rather than for whether or not inclusions are present or can be seen.
As long as light is able to pass through them, and as long as they have not undergone treatments that would alter their composition such as glass filling or extreme heat, then their value is predominately going to be based on carat size, color and translucency.
How Rubies and Sapphires Are Different
Now that we know that rubies and sapphires are basically the same gemstone, I bet you’re wondering what sets these two stones apart. While they have a lot in common, there are some key differences between rubies and sapphires that you may not be aware of:
The Difference in Color
The most obvious difference between these two stones is their color.
A ruby will come in different shades of red depending on where it is mined throughout the world.
Regardless, if the red is not red enough, that is, if the color is taking a hard lean towards either pink or purple, it will no longer be called a ruby, but instead it will be called a sapphire.
This is the ultimate discrimination in marketing.
A ruby by any other name is called a sapphire, meaning that a ruby has been set apart for its color alone. Sapphires come in many different colors depending on the trace element that they have picked up along their growth.
Sapphires come in pink, blue, cornflower blue, green, purple, white, orange and yellow, yet they are all corundum.
But wait!
Purple sapphires also get their color from Chromium, exactly the same as rubies do!
Why are they not considered rubies then?
Not red enough?
Rubies Are More Rare
Rubies are more rare than sapphires because they have an element that causes them to turn red rather than blue.
This element in and of itself is rare in nature compared to the ones that cause the color blue.
The presence of chromium is largely what makes a corundum gemstone a red color. All other varieties of corundum, strictly meaning anything but red, have a mix of chromium and titanium, along with iron traces.
Rubies Are More Valuable
One would think that because sapphires come in so many different colors that they would have a higher price than rubies do.
Not so.
Rubies are more rare even if their colors may differ in the way of light to dark, whereas sapphires are more plentiful even though their colors differ also.
Pricing is dependent on color, plain and simple.
A sapphire that is yellow or white is still a sapphire, but the desirability between a blue sapphire and a white one renders the other colors to be given a lower price.
A pink sapphire, if it has not been treated and if it is of good translucence and good color saturation, will command a price far higher than a blue one would.
Also, an orange sapphire dubbed as “padparadscha” which typically has hues of pink in it, will be even more expensive than a ruby.
Final Thoughts
Because the element chromium that is present in rubies is more rare than all the other elements that are found in the colors of other sapphires, and because the color of a vivid blood red is very much pleasing to the eye, rubies have earned their place above all other gemstones regardless of being the same exact composition, structure and characteristics as other colors of sapphires.
Additionally, the cost of a ruby that has not been enhanced by heat treatment or filling is quite prohibitive for the average person.
This is because the rubies that are mined since the 1960’s are already destined to be treated for marketing, making untreated rubies that much more rare and expensive.
Knowing that this is the case, miners can afford to not be as picky about where to mine their rubies at, since they will all end up in the market for sale now that treatments are widely common practice.
If you would love to have a ruby, but do not want one that has been treated, consider buying a ruby that has been lab grown instead.
Lab grown rubies are seeded from earth mined ones and have all the characteristics, structures and chemical composition of a ruby that has spent thousands of years growing in the dirt.
The only differences are that they will lack a few types of inclusions because they have not been contaminated through contact in the ground by other chemicals, and they are grown rapidly inside of a chamber.