GEOL 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Cullinan Diamond, Corundum, Ruby

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering
• Course: GEOL 102
• Professor: Ronald C Peterson

Document Summary

Surrounded by diamond: sapphire is a dark blue stone and doesn"t transmit light. Imperial crown: edwards sapphire at the top. Has a history further back in time than any other gemstone in the royal collection, in the coronation ring of edward the confessor (st. edward) who ascended the throne of. England in 1042: black prince ruby: actually a spinel, cullinan diamond: second biggest one, stuart sapphire at the back of the crown. Put it at the back to put the cullinan diamond in the front: don"t need to know background of stones for exam. Bible: mentioned throughout the bible for their value. Both ruby and sapphire are the mineral corundum (al2o3: hardest mineral next to diamond, great for a gemstone and use in jewellery b/c it"s very durable. Ruby = red corundum = chromium inclusions: allochromic. Sapphire = any other colored corundum, most famous being blue w/ iron inclusions. Iron and titanium in trace amounts: spectrum of colors.