How Do Professional Gemologists Distinguish Rubies and Pink Sapphires?
1.15-ct oval magenta pink sapphire, Sri Lanka. © All That Glitters. It comes down to the cultural and historical question: what is pink? In a fascinating article, Richard Hughes observes that before the 20 th century, pink was considered a "light red" and some rubies were indeed described as "pink rubies." Over the course of the 20 th century, "someone decided that pink was not red," and the first references to pink sapphires appeared. Used with permission.Īlthough you can measure color, what one chooses to call a particular set of color measurements is still largely subjective.
So why is there no general agreement on the difference between rubies and pink sapphires? 3.06-ct cushion-shaped purplish pink oval sapphire. © All That Glitters. Recently, advances in colorimeters have also addressed the unique problems gemstone optical qualities, such as pleochroism and transparency, have posed to standard color-order systems. View the Course Describing Color Involves Both Objective and Subjective TermsĬolor can be quantified scientifically in terms of hue, tone or lightness, and saturation or intensity. It's not surprising, then, that pink is the boundary line between rubies and sapphires since pink is commonly considered a light tone of red. Although popularly associated with the color blue, sapphires include all non-red colored corundum gems. (Sapphires may contain a mix of chromium, titanium, and iron traces).
All other varieties of corundum, anything not red, are classified as sapphire. The presence of chromium is largely what makes a corundum gemstone red. These impurities create the wide range of colors found in corundum crystals: gray, brown, yellow, green, blue, purple, red, … and pink. Scientifically, rubies and sapphires are simply varieties of corundum, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al 2O 3), with impurities or trace elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium. In October 2016, the US lifted its embargo). (NOTE: All That Glitters purchased all its Myanmar rubies before the 2008 embargo on importing Myanmar ruby and jadeite into the United States. After seeing some of their color descriptions of spessartite, rhodolite, and other gemstones certed by this lab, we are not concerned that they used the term Pink!" © All That Glitters.
Think the difference between red and pink is clear-cut in gemology? The description of this beautiful 2.04-ct Burmese ruby begins: "Color is a great Ruby Red, though the cert indicates a Pink Red. In fact, there is no general agreement on where to draw the line, but that line is certainly pink. What's the difference between rubies and pink sapphires? According to one old joke, that depends on whether you're the buyer or the seller.
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