Difference Between Sapphires, Rubies And Emeralds

You have probably heard of sapphire blue, ruby red and emerald green, but how much do you really know about these stones? They are all rare, valuable gemstones that have been desirable for all of human history.

Here’s the rundown on these beautiful gems.

Sapphires
Sapphire is of the mineral corundum, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, and contains trace elements like iron, titanium, magnesium or chromium that provide the rich blue color (or not! Sapphires can actually be yellow, orange, green, red… basically all the colors of the rainbow). Sapphires are ancient beauties that formed deep in the Earth’s crust under the perfect heat and pressure conditions. Sapphire deposits have been found all over the world, including Africa, Asia and North America.

Sapphires are the third hardest mineral that exists, so they are extremely durable stone options. Sapphires are extremely special to come across and compared to other colored gemstones, sapphires are one of the rarest in the world!

Rubies
Rubies are also of the mineral corundum, so it is essentially the same as a sapphire! However, when the stone is red from the chromium, it is called a ruby. While they develop the same as sapphires, ruby deposits have been found mostly in South East Asia.

Rubies are the same as sapphires, so they are also damage-resistant. Rubies however are significantly more rare than blue sapphires, increasing their value.

Emeralds
Emeralds are of the mineral beryl, achieving its green color from chromium or vanadium. Beryl forms in hydrothermal veins in the earth under perfect temperature and spatial conditions, mostly being found in Africa, Central and South America.

Emeralds are not as hard as sapphires and rubies, yet they are still very resilient and scratch resistant. Emeralds are also among the rare colored gemstones, falling in between sapphires and rubies in their rarity rankings.


At the end of the day, all of these stones are GORGEOUS options that any girl would be crazy not to love. Furthermore, learning the differences between these precious gems is a fun practice for any jewelry lover.