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Ruby and Sapphire
Corundum is the name of the mineral species that includes Ruby and Sapphire. Corundum is an aluminum oxide that grows is a hexagonal or trigonal crystal structure. Corundum is found in all colors of the rainbow from colorless to black. When a corundum has enough red hue then it is called ruby every other hue is called sapphire.
Sapphire
Sapphires are found in all colors but are most commonly know and loved for the rich blue colors that they are often found in. Sapphires are found in many places across the globe. The Kashmir region in the middle east has produced some of the finest quality sapphire but is not currently producing any sapphires. Sri-Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Africa are strong sources of Sapphire. There is an important source in the United states, Montana has several gemstone mines that produce sapphires.
Ruby
Ruby is the red variety of Corundum. Traditionally, the nicest quality rubies have come from Burma (now known as Myanmar). Strong producing sources of quality ruby are few and far between. In the last few decades the Mong Hsu region of Myanmar and most recently Mozambique have provided much needed supplies for ruby market.
Man Made Ruby and Sapphire
Interchangeable terms for man made gemstones are Synthetic or Lab Created.
These refer to a stone that is identical in chemical composition and crystal structure to its natural counterpart. It is the same mineral or gemstone, only it is grown in a controlled environment in a laboratory which duplicates the geologic conditions in which it forms naturally in nature. Synthetic ruby and sapphire have been around for a long time. Though not as hard as diamond, corundum is a very hard material and has many industrial and scientific uses. Lab created ruby bearings protect moving parts in a watch mechanism much better than metal bearings. A watch movement that is called a jewelled movement is a watch mechanism that has these man made corundum bearings. A laser uses a lamp that uses a synthetic ruby crystal core. Colorless synthetic sapphire is used as a watch crystal by many watch manufacturers and the case will often be labelled "sapphire crystal" because it is harder and more durable than glass
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