SAPPHIRES AND RUBIES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 124, 21 November 1925, Page 16

SAPPHIRES AND RUBIES

FOUND IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD. To-day all mineralogists use the term "sapphire" as the generic name, calling rubies red sapphires and speaking of golden sapphire, pink sapphire, green Hiipphiro, etc. In tho jewellery trade only the buo corundum is meant when tho term sapphire is used alone, writes Frank B. Wade in the "Commonwealth Jeweller and Watchmaker," but jewellers speak of pink sapphires, yellow sapphires, etc., as do the mineralogists. Although having very nearly the same composition chemically, the red end the blue corundum seldom come from the name source, although they are sometimes found associated together in mixed gem gravels. Most of tne world's supply of good sapphires has probably come from Siam, where, strangely enough, as a rale, only rather dark and not very valuable rubies are found. Another source that has furnißhed a considerable quantity of fine sapphires is the State of Kashmir, in the Himalayas, in India. Indeed, the designation, a "Kashmir sapphire," is supposed in the trade to mean a etone of highly desirable qualities. Ceylon furnishes a considerable number of rather pale sapphires, as well as a small number of pinkish rubies. Burmah, which supplies practically all of the world's finest rubies, yield* very few sapphires. Montana sapphires have in recent years taken quite a place in the gem market*. While the alluvial «apphires of the stream beds of Montana are seldom of valuable colour, the stones that are newly-mined from the rock have a very lively and desirable blue tint and are remarkably free from irregularities of colour. In Australia, in the Queensland district, large quantities of sapphires have been found, but most of them are of so dense a colour that they have only a low market value. Most of the fine, large sapphires come from Siam or from Kashmir, and fine, smaller stones come from Montana, pale sapphires come from Ceylon, and dark stones from Australia. The "best rubies come from the Burma ruby mines, with darker stones coming from Siam and pinkish rubies from Ceylon.