In Australia, sapphires were first extracted by gold miners on the Cudgegong and Macquarie rivers in New South Wales in 1851. The Big Miner in Rubyvale, Queensland Source: Wikimedia Commons In addition, rubies and sapphires are mentioned in the bible several times, and clergy during the Middle Ages, wore sapphires to symbolise heaven. King Solomon who lived around 1000 BCE was reported to be a big fan of sapphires, and in ancient Greece and Rome, royalty owned these gems and were convinced that they protected their owners from harm. In 1200 BCE, Helen of Troy’s beauty was believed to be associated with a magical star sapphire. There are many myths and legends featuring sapphires as magical healing or protecting stones. Historyįor centuries, sapphires and rubies have been associated with wealth and royalty. Today lasers contain synthetic corundum, and are used in barcode scanners, rangefinders, printers, for cutting tough materials, hair and tattoo removal, and in surgery. The instrument contained a ruby crystal that produced an intense beam of light when blasted by electricity. The first working laser was created by Hughes Research Labs in 1960.

Ruby bearings in a watch with a 'jewel' movement. When the colour of a sapphire is not blue, the colour is used in the name, for example, pink sapphire, yellow sapphire, or green sapphire. Used alone, the word 'sapphire' means blue corundum. Blue sapphires are the most common and gems with a rich blue to violet colour are the most desirable. Sapphires contain traces of iron, titanium and nickel, giving them a range of colours including green, yellow, blue, orange, black and pink. These are called star sapphires or rubies. Sometimes they contain inclusions of crystal needles producing a six or twelve pointed star reflection. Sapphire and ruby crystals can grow to large sizes (crystals have been found weighing more than a kilogram). The impurities in corundum gems produce the large range of colours found. Gems generally get their colour because of certain metals or impurities contained in the mineral. They have the same chemical composition and structure. Sapphires and rubies are both gem varieties of the mineral corundum. Each of these 41 brilliant cut gems is about 3 mm in diameter.

Rough rubies and sapphires