Ruby and Sapphire Gemstones

Contact us by E-Mail if you are interested in gemstones or settings. We usually have other gemstones that are not yet displayed.

We plan to post a number of new sapphires and rubies shortly. We have a range of colors of sapphires including some color chage stones!

Description of Sapphire and Ruby

These gemstones are a form of aluminum oxide - Al2O3. The best know colors of sapphires are blue (the best know) and pink. The colors of natural sapphires, however, range from colorless to blue, pink, purple, blue-green, green, yellow-green, and yellow. The most valuable of these are the blues and the pinks, but all of the sapphires are valuable. The deepest reds are called rubies instead of sapphire and are among the most expensive of gemstones. A flawless ruby is currently worth more than a flawless diamond.

With a hardness of 9, these are the hardest natural substances except for diamond. Its density is 4. Values for diamond are 10 and 3.52, respectively. Because of the value of these gemstones, many man-made and clever simulations exist.

Because of the value of these gemstones, they are acceptable with a range of normal inclusions from light to heavy. In most cases highly included gemstones are worth much less than clear gemstones.

One special form of inclusions are formed uniformaly around the six-sided crystal. Viewed from the top, these form a distinct a six-pointed star and are called star sapphires and rubies. In the case of these star stones, the quality of the star is even more important than the color of the gemstone. Very good star gemstones are worth about the same as a lightly included gemstone.

I. Ruby Gemstones

Series of Burmese Oval Rubies
4 mm X 3 mm - .23 and .27

We have a group of 2 oval rubies at a good price. A description of each example is given below. All 4 would make a good match, and their price is quite good for natural rubies.

RUB109 - A small dark inclusion is just visible to the eye. This ruby appears a bright, deep red to the eye. Looking through this gemstone there is a very slight amount of turbidity. Using a 10X magnifier an additional very tiny dark inclusion is visible. The cut of this ruby is acceptable but not perfect.
Price: $11.00.

RUB110 - A light colored inclusion is visible in this gemstone making it appear lighter than it otherwise would. The effect is of a bright, hot pink. Using a 10X magnifier, there is a medium toned inclusion that runs diagonally through the stone. The overall appearance of this gemstone is much nicer than such a detailed discussion of its problems would seem to indicate. The light colored inclusion requires back lighting to see.
Price: $12.00.

II. Sapphire Gemstones

Series of Pear-shaped Greenish-Blue to Bluish-Green Sapphires
6 mm X 5 mm - .70, .79, .84, and .89 Carats

There are 4 sapphires in this group. All are of the same size and are of high luster. Included in this group is a well matched pair and a lighter one. The third is between these and would make a fairly good match for the pair or a reasonable match for the lighter one. I found it impossible to properly photograph this group so it might be best to describe each one. The color of all 4 would be listed as blue that is slightly grayish and slightly greenish. All 4 were "eye-clean" to my eyes even under close examination.
The well matched pair consists of SAP120 (.79 carats) and SAP121 (.70 carats). Their color is a medium blue that is slightly grayish and slightly greenish. The photo shows the pair and should show them as more blue and slightly more green. I was unable to see any flaws in SAP120 even with the 10X magnifier. In SAP121 I was able to see a couple of almost microscopic darker dots but no other flaws. A nice group that would make an especially nice pair of earrings. Price for the pair: $89.00.
SAP118 (.89 carats) was very slightly lighter than the above pair and slightly darker than the one below. I would call the color a medium blue that is slightly grayish and slightly greenish. Using the 10X magnifier, there were a couple of minor inclusions visible. Price: $49.00.
SAP119 (.84 carats) is the lightest color of the group. This gemstone is show above and should show slightly less green than is shown in the photo. The color os this gemstone is medium light, and it appears especially bright because of the lighter color. It is almost identical to SAP118 except that it is slightly lighter. Price: $35.00.

Very Large Emerald-cut Sapphire
11 mm X 7.3 mm (X 6.1 mm Deep) - 5.17 Carats
A Lovely Blue Large Ring or Pendant Gemstone
Certified and Appraised by Professional GIA Gemologist

Last Updated Nov-13-2002