Sapphire and ruby, the royal gems of
Posted by cnw | 22 Sep, 2008
Sapphire and ruby, the royal gems of choice, are excellent candidates. They are really brother and sister, both members of the gem family corundum. Hardness and toughness are the two measures of durability. Diamond is the harder but ruby and sapphire are tougher and at 9 on the Mohs scale, ruby and sapphire are the second hardest things on earth. In fact, only another sapphire/ruby or diamond will scratch either. There are also expanded color choices: ruby is red but sapphire occurs in virtually every other color, besides, blue you may choose, pink, purple or yellow.
Looking for something really exotic (and less expensive as well? Consider spinel! In elder times red spinel was often confused with ruby, the Black Prince’s Ruby that sits in the English Crown just below the Koh-i-noor diamond is actually a spinel. Spinel comes in lovely shades of pink and is the third hardest gem.
Other options? make sure your choice is over 7 on the mohs scale of hardness: Jade and tourmaline are good possibilities. Avoid amethyst, citrine, opal, tanzanite and the softer garnets. Hard garnets like tsavorite (green garnet) and spessartite (pure orange garnet) at 7.25 are worth consideration. One exception: pearl, gem of Venus, the original symbol of love: It’s a bit soft but makes it up by being tough as nails. Avoid Japanese Akoya (thin skinned) but Tahitian Black; South sea White and Chinese Freshwater will serve admirably.
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