WILLS Gemstone Knowledge [Violet among Sapphires]

As a member of the corundum family, how many do you know about purple sapphire ?

Sapphire belongs to the corundum family, with a Mohs hardness of 9, second only to diamond (so the glass surfaces on some major brand mobile phones are made of sapphire). Sapphire is one of the five major gemstones, and its changing colors are even more pleasing to the eye. Except for red corundum (ie ruby), the names of other sapphires are generally described by color, such as green sapphire. , Pink Sapphire (Pink Sapphire) or Purple Sapphire (Violet Sapphire) and so on. Purple is divided into many different color levels, such as violet (Violet), mysterious and noble deep purple (Deep Violet), fresh and lovely (Light Violet), rich deep purple (Vivid Violet), blue Violetish Blue or Purplish Pink, etc.

The color of corundum is as dazzling as the rainbow.

【Photo from Robert Weldon/GIA. Courtesy: Mark Gronlund, Umatilla, Florida】

[The picture shows a purple sapphire ring from the international jewelry auction house Sotheby’s]

The main component of corundum is aluminum oxide. Corundum contains different color-causing elements that directly affect the color tone of the gem. For example, the blue color of sapphire is caused by iron (Fe) and titanium (Ti), and chromium (Cr) is added. It turns red, so the purple sapphire element is mixed with iron, titanium and chromium. When some purple sapphires containing more chromium elements are irradiated with UV light, they will have a pink fluorescence. This is because the chromium content is very full.

[Photography of the effect of UV irradiation on purple sapphire]

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The colors of corundum given by nature are ever-changing. We have specially selected different colors of purple bare stones or finished products for young fans to choose from. If you want to know more, please come to our Central store to experience it for yourself!