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Sapphire – Natural corundum is commonly thought of as dark blue, but it occurs in many other colors such as yellow, green, pink, colorless and purple.
Mohs hardness: 9
Refractive index: 1.766-1.774
Critical angle: 34.5°
Specific gravity: 3.99-4.0
Cleavage: None
Fracture: Uneven, conchoidal, splintery.
Dispersion: .Moderately high (018)
Heat sensitivity: None
Pleochroism: Dichroic. Darker colors usually show stronger dichroism. Natural blue: distinct (dark blue to greenish-blue); Natural green: weak (more or less yellow); Natural orange: strong (orange to yellow-brown or colorless); Natural purple: distinct (purple to pinkish); Natural ruby: strong (deep red to yellowish-red); Natural yellow: weak (yellow to light-yellow).
Birefringence (double refraction): Weak (.018)
Crystal structure: Hexagonal (trigonal), dipyramidal
Cutting: Corundum cuts and polishes at varying rates on different facets. Dont cut with a bonded lap at any finer grit than 600, otherwise an orange peel effect will make polishing a nightmare. Pre-polish with 8,000 grit on ceramic, zinc or copper lap helps speed up final polishing immensely.
Polishing: Ceramic with 100,000 or 200,000 diamond spray, or zinc lap with 50,000 or 100,000 diamond. BATT can be used as a polish lap, but is a little soft for corundum.
General Gemstone Details
Sapphire is the second hardest crystal that Mother Earth has given us. Second only to the Diamond. Many of the large Sapphire deposits are literally the remains of metamorphic or igneous veins of granite and marble weathered away into stream beds and mountain valleys. Sapphire being stronger than granite or marble survive the weathering and large amounts of the stone are simply gathered from gem gravels in Burma, Thailand, Australia, North America, Brazil, Kashmir and Africa.
It's rare beauty and enduring strength made sapphire quite popular as a talisman among royalty. A medieval historian wrote that kings wore the crystal to protect them from harm, and to prevent jealousy among their court. A sapphire worn to the signing of a treaty was believed would ensure a true reconciliation and prevent further bloodshed. Lore also tells that a venomous snake left in a vessel with a sapphire would certainly die, as the gemstone provided protection from poison.
There is an ancient Persian myth which tells of a giant blue sapphire that Mother Earth rests upon, and that the sky is the reflection of this titan blue crystal. As you can see, sapphire, like its twin corundum, ruby, has etched a place in history, atop the crowns of kings and glorified in legend.
Scientific Properties:
Mohs Hardness of 9 with a trigonal crystal structure.
All gem quality corundum that is not red (ruby) is called sapphire, although the name is commonly associated with the color blue.
There are but trace amounts of minerals which separate this crystal into different gemstones. Corundum is an aluminum oxide crystal that became included with a variety of minerals to produce a rainbow of colors. Chromium will turn the crystal red, classifying it as a Ruby. The treasured blues come from Titanium and Iron, Iron alone produces yellows, often times referred to as Oriental Topaz. Titanium and Iron combinations can also result in greens, while all three elements create a purple crystal believe it or not. A rare and popular Padparadscha (lotus-color) Sapphire gets is pinkish orange hues from a mixture of Chromium and Iron. A white Sapphire is perfectly clear with no inclusions what so ever.
Mystical Properties:
Historically a star sapphire was used as protection from the evil eye In Europe it was used to reflect harmful or evil spells back to the sender. Magicians were known to utilize the gemstones to enhance and direct their magical powers. Alchemists long ago associated the sapphire with the element of air, and India considered it to be the stone of Saturn, and believed it to be a portal to the heavenly realms.
Sapphires can be used to open yourself up to receive heavenly messages, and aid you in clar
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