What Are Sapphires Composed Of?

Contributor

By Laura Stuart
eHow Contributing Writer

The sapphire is a precious gemstone found in mines throughout the world and worn as an adornment and accent to women's jewelry. Sapphires have a long history that dates back to biblical times. The sapir, or sapphire, is mentioned in the book of Exodus as the stone representing the Issachar tribe. This brilliant stone is a variation of the same mineral as rubies, and is valued based on its size, cut, color, clarity and weight.

Types

Sapphires are made of the mineral corundum, which is an aluminum oxide crystal. The chemical formula for sapphires is AL2O3, which means the sapphire is made from the bonding of a molecule with two aluminum components and three oxygen components.

Color

Sapphires get their color from trace amounts of elements that are interworked into the aluminum oxide molecule, including titanium, iron and vanadium.

Geography

Sapphires and rubies are usually found in the same mining locations, but there is usually more of one stone than the other in the particular spot. Deposits of sapphires are found in Australia, Sri Lanka, parts of Africa, Thailand, the United States and Madagascar.

Misconceptions

When most people think of sapphires, they picture a blue stone. However, sapphires are actually every form of mineral corundum that is not red. Therefore, sapphires can be a wide spectrum of colors, including black. They can also be colorless.