Sapphire
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Sapphire a gemstone-quality corundum
Sapphire is any gemstone-quality corundum that is not red. (The red
variety of corundum is also known as ruby.)
When color is not specified, sapphire refers to the blue variety.
Pink, yellow, green, white, and parti-colour (multi-coloured)
sapphires are often valued less than the blue variety of the same
quality and size. However a pink-orange sapphire, called a
padparadsha, is highly prized. They were found in many countries
especially in Asia such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, and
Cambodia.
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It is the impurities in the aluminium oxide crystal that give the
color variations, with different impurity chemical elements giving
the different colors that can be found. Pure sapphire is
transparent. Traces of iron and titanium give sapphires a blue
color. The crystals are exceptionally hard, with only diamond being
harder among natural gems. They have a hardness of 9 on the Mohs
hardness scale (Diamond is 10).
Gem quality sapphires and rubies occur naturally and can be easily
and cheaply produced in the laboratory by the Verneuil process. The
chemical compositions and physical properties are identical to the
natural sapphires. The tell-tale sign of synthetic sapphires is the
crystalline growth lines which are usually curved due to the pulling
during the accelerated crystal growth process.
A version which shows an asterism is called a Star sapphire (see
picture above). Although natural sapphires can show an asterism, the
shape of the star is usually somewhat irregular and sometimes
indistinct. A manufactured star sapphire called the Linde Star shows
a very regularly-shaped and distinct asterism because the formation
process is more tightly controlled than it is in nature.
The Logan sapphire is one of the largest blue sapphire gems known.
It weighs 423 carats (84.6 g).
Lady Diana Spencer's engagement ring from Charles, Prince of Wales
was a sapphire ring.
Cornflower blue is one of the most popular colors for sapphires (the
other choice color a deep royal blue), though there is little
objective consensus about which shade of blue is the most desirable.
Sapphire is the birthstone associated with September.
The word sapphire is probably Phoenician in origin, coming to
English from the Ancient Greek word σάπφειρος, through the Latin
sapphirus. It refers to a "blue gem," either the sapphire proper or
possibly lapis lazuli.
The major deposits are: Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia,
Nigeria, Madagascar, Australia and Kashmir.
Synthetic sapphire crystals can be grown in cylindrical crystal
ingots of large size, up to many inches in diameter. As well as
gemstone applications there are many other uses:
The first ever laser produced was based on the ruby chromium
impurity in sapphire. While this laser has few commercial
applications, the Ti-sapphire laser is popular due to the relatively
rare ability to tune the laser wavelength in the red-to-near
infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It can also be
easily modelocked. In these lasers, a synthetically produced
sapphire crystal with chromium or titanium impurities is irradiated
with intense light from a special lamp, or another laser, to create
stimulated emission.
Pure sapphire ingots can be sliced into wafers and polished to form
transparent crystal slices. Such slices are used as watch faces in
high quality watches, as the material's exceptional hardness makes
the face almost impossible to scratch. Since sapphire ranks a 9 on
the Mohs Scale, owners of such watches should still be careful to
avoid exposure to diamond jewelry, and should avoid striking their
watches against artificial stone and simulated stone surfaces. Such
surfaces often contain materials including silicon carbide, which,
like diamond, are harder than sapphire and thus capable of causing
scratches).
Wafers of single crystal sapphire are also used in the semiconductor
industry as a substrate for the growth of gallium nitride based blue
and green light emitting diodes.
According to Rebbenu Bachya, the word "Sapir" in the verse Exodus
28:20 means "Sapphire" and was the stone on the Ephod representing
the tribe of Issachar. |
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