Birthstones are the collection of precious stones that correspond to a particular birth month.
Ruby is to July as sapphire is to September. Both are contemporary gemstones of great value.
Humans love these gems for their popularity. Other factors like the color (red for ruby and blue for sapphire) also affect the gem’s price.
Ruby and sapphire are both expensive gemstones, making it the main restriction on their use for birthstones. Gifting the gems as birthstones to a kid requires second thought because of their value.
Since most people aren’t willing to shell out a dozen thousand dollars for a birthstone, July and September kids can claim some other gemstones.
Jewelers make use of synthetic birthstones, corundum, and spinel during their low-carat gold or silver mountings to provide a less expansive gemstone variant.
That’s beside the point. The point is; what are the differences between a ruby and a sapphire?
Ruby vs. sapphire: which is most expensive?
While both are expensive jewels, the blue and pink sapphire variants have the highest overhead cost.
A carat of sapphire can go for prices ranging from $500 to $2,000. The price change is heavily dependent on the sapphire’s quality. Higher-quality sapphires can be way more expensive.
Rubies are the most expensive among the duo, and the record price for a carat is $1million.
Typically, one-carat ruby would cost $5,000 to $15,000 per carat in a jewelry store, depending on the quality.
Ruby vs. Sapphire Treatments
Not many pieces of corundum possess the color range that is needed to obtain ruby. The same goes for clarity. It’s rare to find a stone with the clarity to prepare a nice, faceted gem.
Recently, jewelers started researching how to improve the clarity and color of a piece of corundum.
Heating
Heating corundum is a proven way to help build its color. When heated under controlled conditions, the heat dissolves the flaws, making them less visible, thus upgrading the gemstone value and overall quality.
Most rubies in shops and jewelry stores have gone through various heating processes to improve their clarity.
It’s a usual process in the gemstone industry.
However, the jeweler must inform customers of its treatment method before the sale.
Sapphire
Sapphires also undergo various types of heat and fracture filling methods to complement their clarity.
Customers should also know about these treatment methods before initiating a purchase.
Dedicated heat treatment results
Specialized heating methods can bring out astonishing high-end results.
A rough material without a blue hue can be heated to bring out a spectacular blue color.
You can get transparent and blue results from milky or yellowish corundum upon exposure to high heat.
Jewelers must disclose the form of treatment of the various gems to customers wherever they use these spectacular heat treatment methods.
Lattice Diffusion
Lattice Diffusion is a process whereby sapphire heats with a material that will emit metallic ions.
Heats and chemicals are used to input elements into gems to achieve total color change.
The heating effect in the corundum stretches its lattice to allow the diffusion of those ions. This heat causes them to become trapped in the lattice during the corundum cooling state.
The stuck ions block the corundum from adjusting to its usual proportion, causing a fault that blocks the color of light from penetrating the gemstone.
Different diffusion methods produce different results. Orange, yellow, and pink gems are products of Beryllium diffusion, while the blue variant is a product of Titanium diffusion.
However, Lattice diffusion is hard to detect because it is considered a harsh treatment method, the proper name for corundum with color from lattice diffusion.
Ruby and sapphire: what makes them
Rubies are gemstones of corundum that are of a prepotent red color.
The color variants include different shades like brownish red, orange-red, or purple-red.
However, the most widely associated color with ruby is deep vibrant red with marginal purplish red.
The existence of chromium in the gem produces the vibrant ruby red color, but when the chromium concentration is insufficient, it will produce a light pink hue.
A gemstone is not a ruby if it lacks sufficient chromium to give it a standard deep red color.
Rubies are a captivating piece of art because they possess the perfect blend of colors and clarity.
Opaque corundum variants with a pint of red are not rubies – they are just normal corundum.
Iron and titanium, when added to corundum, can produce a shade of blue-colored gems known as sapphires.
Sapphires are gemstones that fall in the coloring range of a lighter blue color to darker shades. Gems that have a violet-blue color are the most like shades of sapphire.
The uniqueness of a stone of sapphire allows it to produce numerous gem-quality variants that appear in many other color variants. These include yellow, green, purple, orange, and pink. In the gem world, they go by the name: “fancy sapphires.” However, “sapphire” in general refers only to the blue corundum.
Ruby vs. Sapphire: Popularity
Ruby and sapphire are exceptional jewelry of great importance, and it seems almost impossible to walk into any jewelry store without them exhibiting their ruby and sapphire collections.
so the most sought-after red-colored gemstone, while sapphire is the most among the blue-colored corundum.
It is crucial to know both are valuable jewels, but sapphire is the most popular among the duo.
Conclusion
Purchase-wise, any of these gemstones you choose to purchase are okay to cash on.
They are valuable gemstones that will complement your attire and bring out your overall beauty.