| |
| Jewelry Information | |
| Brand Name: | Silver Insanity |
| Metal stamp: | 925-Sterling |
| Metal: | sterling-silver |
| Material: | sterling-silver, blue-sapphire |
| Sapphire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General | |
| Category | Mineral Variety |
| Chemical formula | aluminium oxide, Al2O3 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Every color except red (which is ruby) |
| Crystal habit | massive and granular |
| Crystal system | Trigonal |
| Cleavage | None |
| Fracture | Conchoidal, splintery |
| Mohs Scale hardness | 9.0 |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Refractive index | 1.762-1.778 |
| Optical Properties | Abbe number 72.2 |
| Pleochroism | Strong |
| Streak | White |
| Specific gravity | 3.95-4.03 |
| Fusibility | infusible |
| Solubility | insoluble |
| Other Characteristics | Coefficient of thermal expansion 5e-6–6.6e-6/K |
Sapphire refers to gem varieties of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide (Al2O3), when it is a color other than red. Sapphire can be found naturally or manufactured in large crystal boules. Because of its remarkable hardness sapphire is used in many applications, including infrared optical components, watch crystals, high-durability windows, and wafers for the deposition of semiconductors, such as GaN nanorods.
The mineral corundum consists of pure aluminium oxide. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium and chromium give corundum their blue, yellow, pink, purple, orange or greenish color. Sapphire includes any gemstone quality varieties of the mineral corundum except the fully saturated red variety, which is instead known as ruby, and the pinkish-orange variety known as padparadscha.
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Sapphires and rubies are formed at great depth in the earth's mantle or the lowest part of the crust[1]. Although blue is considered the normal color for sapphires, they can be found across a full range of spectral colors as well as brown, colorless, grey and black. Those other than blue in color are considered fancy color sapphires. Some natural sapphires can be found as completely transparent, or "white." White sapphires usually come out of the ground as light grey or brown and are then heated to make them clear. However, in very rare circumstances they will be found in a clear state.
Various shades of blue [dark and light] result from titanium and iron substitutions in the aluminium oxide crystal lattice. Some stones are not well saturated and show tones of grey. It is common practice to bake natural sapphires to improve or enhance color. This is usually done by heating the sapphires to temperatures of up to 1800 °C for several hours, or by heating in a nitrogen deficient atmosphere oven for seven days or more. On magnification, the silk due to included rutile needles are often visible. If the needles are unbroken, then the stone was not heated; if the silk is not visible then the stone was heated adequately. If the silk is partially broken, then a process known as low tube heat may have been used. Low tube heat is the process whereby the rough stone is heated to 1300 °C over charcoal for 20 to 30 minutes. This removes grey or brown in the stone and improves color saturation.
Purple sapphires are lower in price than blue ones. These stones contain the trace element vanadium and come in a variety of shades. Yellow and green sapphires have traces of iron that gives them their color. Pink sapphires have a trace of the element chromium and the deeper the color pink the higher their monetary value as long as the color is going toward the red of rubies. Sapphires also occur in shades of orange and brown, and colorless sapphires are sometimes used as diamond substitutes in jewelry. Salmon-color padparadscha sapphires often fetch higher prices than many of even the finest blue sapphires. The word 'padparadscha' is Sinhalese for 'lotus flower'. Recently many sapphires of this color have appeared on the market as a result of a new treatment method called "bulk diffusion".[citation needed]
Color shift sapphires are blue in outdoor light and purple under incandescent indoor light. Color changes may also be pink in daylight to greenish under fluorescent light. Some stones shift color well and others only partially, in that some stones go from blue to bluish purple. Such color-change sapphires are widely sold as “lab” or “synthetic” alexandrite, which is accurately called an alexandrite simulant (also called alexandrium) since the latter is actually a type of chrysoberyl---an entirely different substance whose pleochroism is different and much more pronounced than color-change corundum (sapphire).
A star sapphire is a type of sapphire that exhibits a star-like phenomenon known as asterism. Star sapphires contain intersecting needle-like inclusions (often the mineral rutile, a mineral composed primarily of titanium dioxide[2] ) that cause the appearance of a six-rayed 'star'-shaped pattern when viewed with a single overhead light source.
The value of a star sapphire depends not only on the carat weight of the stone but also the body color, visibility and intensity of the asterism.
Some sapphires are heat-treated or otherwise enhanced to improve their appearance and color, though some people object to such practices and prefer natural untreated stones. Heat treatments tend to improve the sapphire's color and clarity, and it is unusual to find un-heated stones for sale. Diffusion treatments are somewhat more controversial as they are used to add elements to the sapphire for the purpose of improving colors.
Sapphires are mined from alluvial deposits or from primary underground workings. The finest specimens are mined in Sri Lanka; both the Logan sapphire and the Star of Bombay originate from Sri Lankan mines. Sapphires are also mined in Australia, Madagascar, Thailand and Myanmar. Madagascar leads the world in sapphire production (as of 2007) specifically in and around the city of Ilakaka. Prior to Ilakaka, Australia was the largest producer of sapphires (as of 1987). Ilakaka is prone to violence, but sapphires are found everywhere including on the ground and in the river mud. Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Tanzania and Kenya also produce sapphires. The US state of Montana has produced sapphires from both the El Dorado Bar and Spokane Bar deposit near Helena. Well-known for their intense, pure blue color, yogo sapphires are found in Yogo Gulch, near Utica, Montana. Gem grade sapphires and rubies are also found in and around Franklin, North Carolina, USA. Several mines are open to the public.
Synthetic sapphire crystals can be grown in cylindrical crystal boules of large size, up to many inches in diameter. As well as gemstone applications there are many other uses:
The first ever laser produced was based on the ruby, the red variety of corundum. While this laser has few applications, the Ti-sapphire laser is popular due to the relatively rare ability to tune the laser wavelength in the red-to-near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It can also be easily modelocked. In these lasers, a synthetically produced sapphire crystal with chromium or titanium impurities is irradiated with intense light from a special lamp, or another laser, to create stimulated emission.
Pure sapphire boules can be sliced into wafers and polished to form transparent crystal slices. Such slices are used for high quality watch crystals, as the material's exceptional hardness makes the face resistant to scratching. Since sapphire ranks a 9 on the Mohs Scale, owners of such watches should still be careful to avoid exposure to diamond jewelry, and should avoid striking their watches against artificial stone and simulated stone surfaces. Such surfaces often contain materials including silicon carbide, which, like diamond, are harder than sapphire and thus capable of causing scratches (Scheel 2003).
Sapphire is highly transparent at wavelengths of light between 170 nm to 5.3 μm, as well as being five times stronger than glass. This leads to use of synthetic sapphire windows in high pressure chambers for spectroscopy.
Wafers of single crystal sapphire are also used in the semiconductor industry as a substrate for the growth of gallium nitride based devices.
One type of xenon arc lamp known as Cermax (original brand name - generically known as a ceramic body xenon lamp) use sapphire output windows that are doped with various other elements to tune their emission. In some cases, the UV emitted from the lamp during operation causes a blue glow from the window after the lamp is turned off. It is approximately the same color as Cherenkov radiation but is caused by simple phosphorescence.
The theft of a sapphire known as the "Blue Water" is central to the plot of the novel Beau Geste by P. C. Wren and its various film adaptations.
Russia's second largest oil company Lukoil has announced that it has stopped deliveries to Germany because of a disagreement over prices. This is the second delivery stop to Germany within twelve months. A Lukoil spokesman said the deliveries in question total some 520,000 tonnes. Estimates put the company's annual oil deliveries to Germany at 40 million tonnes.
Gazprom said in a statement that the deal was signed Tuesday after meetings by CEO Alexei Miller with Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari.
"The two sides agreed on the joint participation in the development of two or three blocs in the South Pars field as well as on the participation by GazpromNeft in an oil production project in Iran," the company said.
No other details of the deal were released.
Ties between Russia and Iran have deepened in recent years, despite efforts by the West to isolate Tehran for its alleged sponsorship of terrorist organizations and its nuclear programs| Shop diamonds, earrings, gemstones, necklaces, and rings at Amazon.com |
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