#red stones

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

Ruby and Sapphire

Ruby, Sapphire, and Fancy Sapphire Most people don't realize that ruby and sapphire are both gems of the mineral corundum. Both of these gemstones have the same chemical composition and the same mineral structure. Trace amounts of impurities determine if a gem corundum will be a brilliant red ruby or a beautiful blue sapphire. It is surprising that "impurities" can produce such wonderful results!

Red and blue are just two of the many colors found in gem corundums. Trace amounts of other elements can produce brilliant yellow, orange, green, and purple gems. Red corundums are known as "rubies," blue corundums are known as "sapphires," and corundums of any other color are known as "fancy sapphires." Impurities cause corundum to occur in a spectrum of colors, and when it is completely free of color-causing impurities, it is a colorless gem known as "white sapphire."

Ruby and Sapphire Birthstones Ruby and sapphire both serve as modern birthstones. Ruby is the birthstone for the month of July. Sapphire is the birthstone for the month of September. They are excellent choices for birthstones because they are well know gems and because many people love red and blue gemstones.

Ruby and sapphire are not inexpensive gems and that causes a challenge when they are used as birthstones. Many people want to give a birthstone gift to a child and hesitate to give a child a gift that is costly. Or the shopper would like to give a birthstone gift, but has a limited budget. To accommodate these shoppers, the use of synthetic birthstones in low carat gold or sterling silver mountings provides a lower cost option. Synthetic corundum and synthetic spinel are often used.

What Makes a Ruby? Rubies are gem corundums with a dominant red color. The color can range from orangy red to purplish red or brownish red. The most desirable color range is a pure vibrant red to a slightly purplish red.

The red color of ruby is produced by the presence of chromium in the gem. A small trace of chromium will produce a pink color. To be considered a ruby, there must be enough chromium to give the gem a distinctly red color.

Finally, rubies must have a combination of color and clarity that makes them an attractive gem. Opaque pieces of corundum with just a hint of red color are not rubies - they are common corundum.

Ruby Treatments Very few specimens of corundum have a natural color within the range required for a ruby. Very few also have the clarity required to produce a nice faceted stone. Long ago, people who prepared gem materials for cutting began experimenting with ways to improve their color and clarity.

Heating Heating corundum crystals under controlled conditions can improve or intensify their color. Heating can also remove inclusions by causing them to dissolve, making them less visible and improving the clarity of a gem.

Most rubies in the market today have been heated to improve their color and clarity. This heat treatment is normal and expected in the gem trade, but a seller should disclose the treatment to a buyer in advance of a sale.

Fracture Filling One of the early treatments was to fill surface-reaching fractures with oils, waxes, or resins. These treatments filled pits and fractures on the surface of the gem and improved their appearance. However, these treatments are not permanent because the oils can be washed out, and the waxes and resins can crack and fall out with age - even with special care. They produce a temporary improvement in the appearance of the stone and are mainly done to produce a quick and profitable sale.

A more permanent type of fracture treatment is to fill the fractures with minor amounts of flux, glass, or another durable material. These enter the fractures during the heat treatment process. When the stone cools, a permanent filling of the fracture was accomplished. These treatments reduce the visibility of the fractures and improve the clarity of the gems. They also might improve the durability of some stones. This type of treatment is generally acceptable but should be disclosed to the buyer.

A much more aggressive treatment is to heat the gem to a very high temperature and inject glass or flux into the fractures. The temperature of this treatment can be high enough that some of the ruby melts and mixes with the fracture-filling materials. The result of this treatment is an altered stone with an improved appearance. But the stone now contains an unknown and possibly significant amount of non-ruby material. If these gems are sold “by the carat,” the buyer might pay a significant portion of the price for non-ruby material. Many people believe that these treatments produce man-made composite materials that should not be called “ruby.”

What Makes a Sapphire? Trace amounts of iron and titanium can produce a blue color in corundum. Blue corundums are known as "sapphires." The name "sapphire" is used for corundums that range from a very light blue to a very dark blue color. The blue can range from a greenish blue to violetish blue. Gems with a rich blue to violetish blue color are the most desirable.

Gem-quality corundum occurs in a wide range of other colors, including pink, purple, orange, yellow, and green. These gems are known as "fancy sapphires." It is surprising that a single mineral can produce gemstones of so many different colors.

When the color of a sapphire is any color other than blue, the color should be used as a preceding adjective to describe the stone. For example, pink sapphire, yellow sapphire, or green sapphire. Used alone, the word "sapphire" refers only to blue corundum.

Sapphire Treatments Just like ruby, sapphires are subjected to a wide variety of heat and fracture-filling treatments. And, just like ruby, any heat, fracture-filling or other type of treatment should be disclosed to buyers.

Fancy Sapphires: A collection of sapphires. Clockwise from top left: a reddish orange beryllium-heat-treated sapphire weighing 0.62 carats from Tanzania; a pinkish purple heated sapphire weighing 0.62 carats from Tanzania; a mandarin orange beryllium-heat-treated sapphire weighing 0.66 carats from Tanzania; a green heat-treated sapphire weighing 0.87 carats from Australia; an orangy yellow beryllium-heat-treated sapphire weighing 0.77 carats from Tanzania; and, a purplish pink heated sapphire weighing 0.66 carats from Madagascar. Almost all fancy sapphires have received heat or beryllium-heat treatment to improve their color.

Spectacular Heat Treatment Results Some rough materials that have no trace of blue color can be heated to produce a spectacular blue. Some milky to yellowish, cloudy to translucent corundum can be heated to yield stones that are transparent and bright blue. If such treatments have been used, sellers should disclose the types of treatments to potential buyers when the stone is presented for sale.

Heat-treated Sapphires: This photo shows about 49 carats of rough Montana sapphire from the El Dorado Bar that have received heat treatment.

Lattice Diffusion Some sapphires are treated by a process known as "lattice diffusion." In lattice diffusion, the sapphire is heated in the presence of a material that will release tiny metal ions. When the corundum is heated, its lattice expands enough that these tiny ions can diffuse into the gem and become trapped within the lattice when the corundum is allowed to cool. The trapped ions prevent the corundum from contracting to its normal dimensions, producing a defect that alters the color of light passing through the gem.

Beryllium diffusion can produce orange, yellow and pink colors. Titanium diffusion can produce blue. Lattice diffusion treatment is considered to be a severe treatment that is sometimes hard to detect. Some people believe that corundum which has a color produced by lattice diffusion should not be called "sapphire."

Mining Rubies and Sapphires Most gem-grade corundum forms in metamorphic rocks, such as schist or gneiss; or in igneous rocks such as basalt or syenite. However, gem corundums are rarely mined from the rocks in which they form. Mining small gems from hard rock is possible, but it is very expensive, and many of the gems are broken during the mining process. Fortunately, corundum is very hard and resistant to weathering. In many areas, natural weathering and erosion have liberated the stones from their host rock, and carried them into streams over long periods of geologic time.

Today, the gems are mined from these stream sediments. Their high specific gravity relative to other sediment particles often causes currents to concentrate them in small placer deposits. Most rubies and sapphires are produced by washing the gravels of these stream deposits. This work is often done by hand because the deposits are small and irregular in shape and character. These deposits are often located in countries when wages are very low and artisanal mining is prevalent.

Noteworthy locations where gem-quality corundums have been produced include Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, China, Australia, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Malawi.

Read more at Geology dot com.

What is Ruby? Ruby is a red gemstone variety of Corundum. Ruby is a 40th Anniversary gemstone.

Ruby Associations Chakras - Base Chakra, Heart Chakra Birthstone - July Zodiac - Aries, Cancer, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius Planet - Sun Element - Fire Numerical Vibration - Number 3 Typical colors - Pinkish-red to red

What is Sapphire? Sapphire is a variety of the mineral corundum. It is a precious gemstone. Sapphire is a 5th and a 45th Anniversary gemstone.

Sapphire Associations Chakras - dependent on color (see below) Birthstone - September (blue Sapphire) Zodiac - Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius Planet - Saturn Element - Water Numerical Vibration - Number 2 Typical colors - Blue, yellow, black, pink, white, indigo, green

Healing with Ruby ♥ Integrity ♥ Devotion ♥ Happiness ♥ Healing ♥ Courage ♥ Passion ♥ Enthusiasm ♥ Generosity ♥ Inspiration ♥ Prosperity ♥ High Energy ♥ Power and Leadership

Ruby encourages passion and a zest for life. It improves motivation and setting of realistic goals. Balances the heart and instills confidence. Ruby encourages joy, spontaneity, laughter and courage. It promotes positive dreams and stimulates the pineal gland. Aids in retaining wealth and passion. Ruby encourages removal of negative energies from your path. It overcomes exhaustion and lethargy and imparts potency and vigor. Calms hyperactivity.

Ruby detoxifies the body, blood and lymphatic system. It treats fevers, infectious disease and restricted blood flow. Ruby stimulates the adrenals, kidneys, reproductive organs and spleen.

Healing with Sapphire ♥ Creative expression ♥ Intuition ♥ Meditation ♥ Luck ♥ Wisdom ♥ Optimism ♥ Friendliness ♥ Generosity ♥ Love ♥ Loyalty ♥ Independence ♥ Centering ♥ Balance ♥ Self-appreciation ♥ Spiritual development ♥ Intellect ♥ Study ♥ Knowledge ♥ Memory

Known as the "wisdom stone", each colour of Sapphire brings its own particular wisdom. It releases mental tension, depression, unwanted thoughts and spiritual confusion. Sapphire restores balance within the body, aligning the physical, mental and spiritual planes, bringing serenity and peace of mind. It stimulates concentration, brings lightness, and joy. Sapphire is also known as a "stone of prosperity", attracting gifts of all kinds and fulfilling dreams and desires.

Sapphire treats blood disorders, combatting excessive bleeding and strengthening the walls of the veins. It is used for cellular disorders, regulates the glands and calms overactive body systems.

Colour Healing with Sapphire In addition to the generic healing properties of Sapphire, specific colors have additional attributes:

Black Sapphire Chakras - Base Chakra Zodiac - Sagittarius Numerical Vibration - Number 4

The Black Sapphire provides centreing, protection and grounding. It helps you to achieve confidence in your own intuition.

Blue Sapphire Chakras - Throat Chakra Birthstone - September Zodiac - Gemini Numerical Vibration - Number 6

The Blue Sapphire is traditionally associated with purity and love. It assists you to stay on the spiritual path, releasing blockages and providing strength. Blue Sapphire facilitates self-expression, assisting in communication and expressing your truth and beliefs. It opens and heals the thyroid and the throat chakra and has a calming and balancing effect on the nervous system.

Green Sapphire Chakras - Heart Chakra Zodiac - Gemini, Libra Numerical Vibration - Number 6

Green Sapphire is known as the "stone of fidelity", stimulating the heart chakra and bringing loyalty and integrity. It improves internal and external vision and helps you to remember dreams.

Indigo Sapphire Chakras - Third Eye Chakra Zodiac - Sagittarius Numerical Vibration - Number 6

The Indigo Sapphire enhances psychic awareness. It eliminates negative energies from the aura.

Pink Sapphire Chakras - Heart Chakra

Pink Sapphire clears emotional blockages bringing peace and unconditional love.

White Sapphire Chakras - Crown Chakra Zodiac - Libra Numerical Vibration - Number 4

White Sapphire is extremely protective, removing all obstacles and helpfully encouraging the pursuit of one's life purpose. It provides focus and supports morality and justice.

Yellow Sapphire Chakras - Solar Plexus Chakra Zodiac - Leo Planet - Jupiter Numerical Vibration - Number 4

Yellow Sapphire attracts wealth and brings prosperity to the home. It stimulates the intellect and improves overall focus, enhancing wisdom. Yellow Sapphire assists in bringing fulfilment of ambition. It aids in eliminating impurities from the body and stimulating the lymphatic system. Treats liver and gallbladder problems as well as disorders of the spleen and stomach.

From Charms of Light.

[wgm-beautiful-world]

[bettyyrosee]

Red stone necklace

[tossawary]

This is petty fandom salt, BUT... I've been chewing on this phenomenon that I've been calling "Fandom's Darling". It is related to things like "Author's Darling" and "Mary Sue / Gary Stu" and "Protagonist Halo" and all that jazz, where one character gains a peculiar narrative weight in a story.

"Author's Darling" is when a writer has a favorite character, and the world and all other characters sort of get... warped to put the Darling in the spotlight. It's most noticeable in TV shows with multiple writers, when a character you personally like suddenly has their previous characterization destroyed to make another character look good somehow. Every other character might become weirdly incompetent. The Darling's feelings are treated as The Most Important Feelings in any given situation. The logic of the fictional world seems broken past suspension of disbelief in order to validate this one character's beliefs or skillset or some other fantasy. And so on.

"Fandom's Darling" is what I've been calling the pattern where a fandom essentially crowns a New Protagonist for their fanfiction stories (it's often a side character rather than the original protagonist, but it can also happen to protagonists). This character becomes the self-insert for all sorts of indulgent fantasies, gaining special powers or backstories, and/or becoming the focus of extreme whump, and/or hooking up with all the various hotties, starring in all sorts of tropey AUs, and so on. They're not always an obvious Mary Sue version of themselves, but the character's original personality and interpersonal relationships tend to get warped or dropped completely, and other characters tend to become a little flat around them. I call it "Fandom's Darling" because it's not just one self-indulgent fantasy fic (you do you! Have fun!) with characterization choices that I don't vibe with (I have neither the time nor the desire nor the authority to police anything, I am just venting), but rather a prolific mini-fandom of sorts revolving around this empty doll / fanon version of the chosen vessel character, so it becomes a little unavoidable.

I am salty about this (mildly frustrated) (imagine a soft sigh of disappointment before I just go do something else) because you are FUCKED if you actually liked the canonical version of this character and their interpersonal relationships. It's almost worse than liking an obscure character that no one cares about. There's about a thousand fics starring your fave, but maybe only about a dozen of them are actually rooted in any kind of recognisable canon.

[tasandaussi]

[undead-knick-knack]

Long hair

No bra

That's my type (that's right)

[delicourse]

end of spring🌸🧶🌱🧵

[wintergrofyuri]

i really cant stress enough how much i need rin being stupid attracted to marcille. not strictly in a romantic sense, but in like a. eros kind of way ykno. rin is stressed (over kabru) and angry (with kabru) and this stupid fucking elf with her bright green eyes and long hair and sweet, sing-songy voice is NOT fucking helping.

also the thought of her being all "whoever made this spell was stuck up and snobby and stupid" and then they finally catch up with the touden party and said spellcaster looks like this

in a fucking frog suit and she's still FUCKING PRETTY

also the idea of holm being the first to witness her silent mental breakdown over finding the touden elf attractive is rlly funny to me.

[amazingdeadfish]

It's the Spookie Month

[svnnnne]

string of fate

[fashion4standusers]

Lil Nas X in custom Coach tour outfits

[mysterycitrus]

bobinses robinses

[heartnosekid]

superseven.cn on ig

[mizgnomer]

David Tennant's fabulous suits

[errornowifi]

Tall eighth gym leaders and their short champion boyfriends

[todayontumblr]

Monday, January 8.

Glamorama at the Globes.

We like our Globes how we like our Rules—Golden (see also: Girls/Bachelors/Compasses/Ratios, etc.) Fortunately, last night saw The 81st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the crème de la crème in film and American television, and they did not disappoint. There were awards to be handed out, a wealth of tea to be spilled, and history to be made. There were also acceptance speeches to be read, and people to thank—unless, of course, in exceptional circumstances.   

a speech for the ages @ouiladybug