The Science of Ruby

Ruby is what gemologists consider to be the red brother of sapphire, for they have the exact same base composition – a form of aluminum oxide called corundum – and they differ exclusively on their coloration, being every red corundum considered a ruby, while corundum of any other color is labeled as a sapphire. Depending on the concentration of chromium, titanium, vanadium and iron in the stone, ruby gets its pinkish to dark red tonality, and just like sapphires, these are some of the hardest substances on the Mohs scale.

Rubies are mined and traded mostly in Thailand and Burma, but recent discoveries in Madagascar made the country become one of the main exporters of rubies.
It has a trigonal hexagonal scalenohedral crystal system and a Mohs hardness of 9.

Ruby throughout History

Taking its name from the Latin word rubens, it literally translates as “red”, and rubies definitely are the kings of all red gemstones.
During the Middle Ages, rubies were considered the most effective shield against one’s misfortune on all levels, be it related to love, finances or health – rubies would ensure that one’s fate would turn in the most positive of ways.

While India was one of the most important locations for some of the best and more expensive rubies, it received the Sanskrit name ofratnaraj, meaning “The King of all gemstones”, for they believed it was created when Mother Earth’s blood crystalized.

Those who’d have the financial power to offer rubies in honor of Krishna believed that in their next life they’d reincarnate as an emperor.
Like every great gemstone, rubies were mentioned and highly regarded in virtually all ancient religious texts, from the Christian Bible to the Hindu religious writings.

Ruby’s healing properties

This fiery red gemstone gifts its bearer with love, self-respect, courage to pursue his dreams and loyalty to his loved ones.
Rubies are considered to be basilar for those who live exhausting and intensive lives and, therefore, find it extremely hard to keep a strong and clear focus on the tasks at hands, for their minds are working on full throttle and rational concentration only becomes possible when a ruby enters their lives.

Being a stone of true wisdom and clear perspective, rubies ensure that one’s path is not paved with countless bad turns and tremendous time losses due to wrong decisions.

A ruby will make its bearer find a sincere increase in productivity and have a true will to let go of all destructive patterns that lead to problems in the past.
Those feeling like they’re an easy target for the evil eye or others’ harmful intentions can greatly benefit from ruby’s powerful shield that guards its bearer against any mental or physical attack.

Ruby care

Even without much profound care, a ruby will endure for much more than a lifetime. However, a long exposure to a strong heat or light source can affect its delightful tonalities, so due care should be taken.
In order to wash a ruby, warm and soapy water (or a mild dishwashing detergent) and a soft brush should be all that’s needed for its royal beauty to keep shining proudly.

PROPRIÉTÉS PHYSIQUES ET OPTIQUES DU SAPHIR

Le saphir, comme le rubis, est une variété de corindon. Ce minéral est un oxyde d’aluminium de composition chimique Al2 O3. Le saphir peut se présenter sous de nombreuses couleurs selon les éléments colorants qu’il contient : fer et titane pour les pierres bleues, fer pour les jaunes et les vertes, vanadium pour les violettes, chrome pour le rose… Son système cristallin est trigonal. Sa dureté est très élevée : 9 sur l’échelle de Mohs qui comprend dix grades, dont le plus élevé correspond au diamant. Il a une densité de 3,95 à 4,03, son éclat est vitreux, son pléochroïsme est fort. Certains saphirs n’ont aucune luminescence, d’autres en ont une couleur abricot.

LES COULEURS DU SAPHIR

Toutes les variétés de corindon qui ne sont pas rouges sont placées dans la catégorie saphir, y compris le leuco-saphir, incolore, et le padparadscha, d’une incroyable teinte entre le rose et l’orangé : son nom vient d’un mot sanskrit qui signifie fleur de lotus…
Le saphir bleu est le plus connu. Bleu clair, bleu gris, bleu foncé, toutes les nuances sont possibles. Le Bleu royal et le Bleu cornflower ont une teinte profonde et sont très prisés.
Le saphir rose va du pastel au rose vif, et ceux qui ont le plus de valeur sont ceux qui tirent le moins vers le violet.
Le saphir jaune n’est pas le plus recherché car il est souvent moins brillant et clair que les autres.
Les saphirs verts sont assez rare en taille radiant.
Les saphirs orangés sont très rares, et il faut prendre garde : la plupart de ceux que l’on trouve sur le marché sont des pierres teintées, à moins d’avoir un certificat adéquat.
Les saphirs d’un violet vif sont très recherchés car ils sont rares, surtout en grandes dimensions.

PRINCIPAUX GISEMENTS DE SAPHIRS

Le saphir se forme soit dans les roches magmatiques, soit dans les zones frontières entre les pegmatites (principaux constituants du manteau terrestre) et les roches adjacentes, soit enfin dans des roches métamorphiques comme le gneiss et les micaschistes. On peut trouver dans les alluvions des saphirs ayant résisté à l’érosion des roches qui les abritaient.
Le saphir est plus fréquent que son jumeau le rubis. On en trouve un peu partout dans le monde, comme par exemple en Australie, au Brésil, à Madagascar. Les plus importants gisements, et ceux qui renferment les plus belles pierres sont généralement en Asie : les mines du Cachemire, en Inde, au Sri Lanka où l’on produit le cornflower (couleur de bleuet), dans les mines de Mogok en Birmanie…

Pour bien choisir son saphir, il faut être à attentif à plusieurs critères :

- La couleur : le saphir doit être d’un beau bleu intense et profond, sans être trop foncé car cela diminuerait sa transparence. Il faut également savoir que les saphirs perdent un peu de leur éclat sous une lampe à incandescence, tandis qu’ils révèlent tout leur éclat à la lumière du soleil.
- Transparence : les saphirs ont généralement moins d’inclusions que les rubis. Il vaut mieux préférer une pierre à la grande clarté, même si un léger voile, que l’on appelle la « soie », peut avoir son charme.
- la Taille : elle est difficile car le saphir brut est rarement homogène. Le lapidaire doit donc décider dans quelle partie il va tailler la gemme pour qu’elle soit la plus belle. La taille ovale ou la taille coussin révèlent tout l’éclat du saphir, mais on trouve aussi des cœurs, des poires, des ronds…

Les saphirs sont souvent chauffés à 1300 degrés pour intensifier leur couleur et atténuer la visibilité des inclusions.

HISTOIRES ET LÉGENDES AUTOUR DU SAPHIR

Le mot saphir viendrait de l’hébreu sappir, qui signifie « la chose la plus belle ». Ce mot trouverait ses racines dans le sanskrit « sauriratna », en passant par le chaldéen, le grec puis le latin « sapphirus ».

Le saphir a parfois été confondu avec le lapis-lazuli. Ainsi, certains pensent que les Tables de la Loi reçues par Moïse sur le Mont Sinaï étaient en saphir, d’autres en lapis-lazuli. Cette dernière roche était parfois appelée saphir en Europe, jusqu’au XIIe siècle.
Les Egyptiens associaient le saphir avec la vérité et la justice.
Charlemagne portait des bijoux saphir qui lui avait été offerts par un calife au IXe siècle. En or filigrané et orné de pierres précieuses, il s’est vu ajouter au XIXe siècle un gros saphir en cabochon à travers lequel on distingue ce qui est considéré comme un fragment de la Vraie Croix. Ce trésor de la cathédrale de Reims est conservé au Palais de Tau.
A partir du XIIIe siècle, sur décision du pape Innocent III, les cardinaux de l’église catholique se mirent à porter une bague avec un saphir à la main droite, celle qui fait le geste de bénédiction.

VERTUS ET BIENFAITS DU SAPHIR

Le saphir aurait des vertus tant sur le plan physique que spirituel.
Il renforcerait la vue, lutterait contre la fièvre et arrêterait les saignements de nez si on l’applique contre le front. Il aurait une action bénéfique sur les cheveux, la peau et les ongles, luttant contre la calvitie par exemple.
Il aiderait à soigner les problèmes d’origine nerveuse, les rhumatismes, la goutte, les douleurs articulaires.
D’un point de vue psychique, il symbolise l’honnêteté, la vérité, la fidélité. Il aiderait son porteur à bien mener ses méditations, à s’élever sur le plan spirituel. La sainte médiévale Hildegarde de Bingen affirmait qu’en le léchant fréquemment, on pouvait devenir plus intelligent !

CORRESPONDANCES ASTROLOGIQUES DU SAPHIR

Le saphir bleu est surtout lié au signe de la Balance, par sa couleur de nuit qui évoque l’équinoxe d’automne. D’autres l’associent au Taureau, qu’il aiderait à se mettre en accord avec lui-même et à écouter son intuition. En astrologie chinoise, il est associé au Tigre et porte parfois le nom de Troisième Œil, pour sa capacité à accroître l’intuition, comme pour le Taureau. Le saphir est la pierre de naissance des enfants de septembre. Les noces de saphir correspondent au 16e anniversaire de mariage.

The Science of Sapphire

Sapphire is composed mainly of corundum, a form of aluminum oxide that is crystalline and that also makes up the biggest part of ruby’s composition, making them highly related and differentiated mostly by their colors.
Being clear blue its natural and most associated tonality, if impurities are present while it was formed, it can adopt different colors, such as green, pink, white, black or virtually any other or combination of others.

It gets its blue color from iron and titanium and the most famous mining sources for sapphires are located in India and throughout the Asian continent, but they can be found all over the world.
It has a trigonal hexagonal scalenohedral crystal system and a Mohs hardness of 9.

Like most gemstones, sapphire takes its name from a Latin word – sapphirus – meaning “blue”, and virtually every ancient civilization in History fell in love with this luxurious stone.
Until the 11th century, sapphire was considered a privilege for European kings and clergy, for it was believed that it could serve as a powerful shield against the jealousy that their people could feel given the gargantuan riches and powers that kings and clergy have.

During the Renaissance period, the wealthy elitist minority found in sapphire the best way to show their status and jewelry worth fortunes was a common gift to seduce lovers or increasing one’s influence and connection with relevant members from that same elite.
Those who possessed sapphire gems believed that it was the most effective way to prevent their wealth and fate to ever change and to maintain their ever-growing prosperity.

In ancient Egypt, sapphire was seen as a protective talisman that could keep evil spirits and other haunting creatures of the night away from its bearer and, therefore, was the favorite stone of travelers and those that dealt with the occult world.
Sapphire’s healing properties

This mesmerizing gemstone is said to drive its bearer to its own destination, bringing out from one’s heart and soul the best possible qualities that can allow one’s dreams to materialize.
Sapphire is connected to success in romance and to attract internal bliss and happiness, keeping its bearer always motivated to keep seeking his goals without ever letting go of his belief in himself and hope that a higher power will make sure that everything will go right.

Those facing serious depression and an undesired flow of negative thoughts, find in sapphire a magical cure that restores balance and aligns all planes of the individual’s reality.
By attracting good luck and bringing dreams to a state of accomplishment, sapphire is known for its everlasting effect of calmness, serenity and joy.

Sapphire care
Being ranked so high in Mohs scale of hardness, sapphires don’t require any special treatment when it comes to washing them.
A simple solution of warm and soapy water is enough to ensure that it’s effectively cleansed, but those with ultrasonic cleaners and steamers might find in them the right tool to bring their sapphires to life.

Tourmalines are an intricate mix of crystals of aluminum boron silicate with a highly complex and modifying composition, which gives it infinite natural possibilities of coloration.
Its color ranges from hazy clear with gorgeous inclusions of black tourmaline threads, to almost any possible color in the light spectrum, often being found having several tonalities in the same stone, and making none look alike.

Most of the tourmaline in today’s market comes from Brazil, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, and it’s considered to be one of the most broadly appealing gemstones in the world.
It has a hexagonal rhombohedral crystal system and a Mohs hardness of 7-7.5.

Tourmaline throughout History

This mineral’s name comes from the Singhalese expression tura mali, literally meaning “stone with miscellaneous colors”
In the past, this beautiful mineral was considered extremely opaque to have any use as a proud gemstone, so only since the past two decades did tourmaline go from an exclusively decorative and

ornamental stone to a source of adoration from craftsman and jewelry designers from all over the world.
Particularly in its crystal clear with black threads coloration, tourmaline embodies the ultimate yin- yang energy, which made its demand ramp up over the past years.

In ancient Egypt, it was believed that tourmaline passed through a rainbow as it travelled all the way to Earth, making it absorb all of its colors.
Scientists have been amazed by its natural properties, for tourmalines can be effectively charged with electrical energy if strongly heated up and then allowed to slowly cool down. Tourmaline’s healing properties

This mineral is said to allow its bearer to deeply get to know his own self, and to more easily understand other individuals’ true colors.
By promoting responsible actions and increasing self-confidence, tourmaline reduces one’s fear of experimenting new things. It’s considered to be a stone that would fit every person, for it attracts and enhances human qualities that are fundamental, such as tolerance, compassion and creativity.
By balancing the spectrum of female and male energies within one’s body, tourmaline frees the individual from tension and enhances one’s natural energy.
Tourmaline is a stone of peace that boosts compassion, cooperation and reconciliations, while at the same time it attracts emotional and financial prosperity.
Tourmaline care
Given its hardness, this is one of the easiest minerals to care for. Still, jewelry made from it shouldn’t be used when doing activities that have a high risk of making it suffer a strong bash that can damage It can be soaked in a solution of dishwashing detergent and warm water for ten minutes and then gently scrubbed with a soft toothbrush; after properly drying it, it’s ready to be stored or used again.

The Science of Diamond

One of the greatest geological marvels is, without any shadow of doubt, the formation and consequential exquisite aura associated with diamonds.
These are composed of carbon atoms surrounded by four adjacent carbon atoms arranged in a tetrahedral coordination, and for them to come to existence it’s necessary that the most specific and unique conditions are occurring – an extremely high pressure of fifty thousand times the one present at the Earth’s surface, and a relatively low temperature that is almost impossible to match such high pressure levels.

Out of the whole worldwide extraction and synthesization of diamonds, only 20% is then used in jewelry, for its physical properties are of extreme importance for industrial purposes.
Diamonds have an isometric hexoctahedral crystal system and a Mohs hardness of 10, making them the hardest minerals on Earth.

Diamonds occur in a variety of colors — steel gray, white, blue, yellow, orange, red, green, pink to purple, brown, and black, virtually in every color of the rainbow.
Colored diamonds contain interstitial impurities or structural defects that cause the coloration, whilst pure diamonds are perfectly transparent and colorless.

Diamond throughout History

Billions of years ago, long before dinosaurs ruled our planet, diamonds were formed at the harshest possible conditions, bringing their beauty and outstanding fascination out of ancient times and straight into present and the future.
Surviving a glorious journey in order to get to our hands, diamonds are some of the clearest examples of Earth’s destructive and constructive powers, shaping itself while creating new realities. Since they were first discovered by ancient civilizations, diamonds were considered to be truly magical, for no man’s strength, powerful tool or raging fire could affect their integrity a single bit. Considered to be the crystalized form of the tears of the Gods of Olympus, or even small shattered bits of the stars, throughout history they have been associated with good luck, banishment of negative energies and evil, and the greatest source of true wisdom.

Kings of old would never risk going to battle without an amulet made from diamond in order to come back victorious and alive.
Awakening some of the strongest emotions in human beings, diamonds were present in some of the most important tales of old and their mystery will forever resonate in our collective subconscious.

Diamond’s healing properties

Known as the king of all gemstones, a diamond is known for unifying the body and the mind, thus eliminating duality and reducing one’s sense of separation from the outside world.
Diamonds boost one’s intellect and increase the control over one’s thoughts, allowing negative thought patterns to simply vanish and supreme mental clarity to be obtained.

Diamonds are seen as the most effective shield against negativity from one’s surroundings, while at the same time it strengthens every energy center of the person bearing it.
Ancient Hindu traditions regarded diamonds as a talisman that would ensure good health and proper functioning of the internal organs, for its positive vibrations could even repel nightmares and prevent dreadful depression states.

Ultimately, diamonds are a symbol of clarity and purity, a true talisman to guard its bearer during all the difficult trials in life.
Diamond care
Diamond is the most indestructible of all minerals, however it requires appropriate care in order to make its beauty last forever.

One should make sure to clean a diamond with some regularity, for the oil from one’s skin can affect its brightness and look.
Leaving a diamond soaked overnight in a solution of water and ammonia-based household cleaning product and then cleaning it in the morning with a soft brush is enough to make all of its beauty pop.