The World of Jewelry and Gemstones

Did you know that a ruby is simply a red sapphire? Sapphires are found in every color of the rainbow. Every sapphire is made of the same substance – aluminum oxide. Pure aluminum oxide is transparent. Trace elements within the sapphire cause the various colors. Small amounts of chromium result in a ruby. Blue sapphires contain iron and titanium. The reason rubies are much rarer than blue sapphires is because there is far less chromium in the earth than iron and titanium.

Ruby is the rarest gemstone in the world, even rarer than diamond. In 30 years of attending large international trade shows, I have seen less than five decent quality rubies over 9 carats. By contrast, I could go to one diamond cutter’s booth that specializes in large diamonds and look at 15 to 20 diamonds from 10 to 50 carats. Although no one is keeping track, experts have estimated that rubies are 100 times rarer than diamonds. When comparing rubies and diamonds over 2 carats, my guess is that rubies are thousands of times rarer.

There is a big difference between a synthetic gemstone and an imitation gemstone. A synthetic gemstone is a man-made gemstone. It is chemically the same as its natural counterpart. On the other hand, an imitation gemstone is a completely different substance. For instance, an imitation diamond may be glass, quartz, or a cubic zirconia. A synthetic diamond is chemically the same as a mined diamond, but it was made by man in a laboratory.

Synthetic and imitation gemstones are always less valuable than natural gemstones.