Corundum - a stone for jewelry and industry

Corundum - a precious stone, from the point of view of the jeweler. The chemist will say that this is just aluminum oxide, the color of which is given to impregnations of iron, chromium, vanadium, titanium, etc. Impurities, which in percentage terms are about 2%, are replaced Aluminum in the crystal lattice of the mineral. Surprisingly, the same atoms / ions in different minerals can behave differently. For example, chromium gives red corundum, beryl (related to composition) - green, and chrysoberyl in the morning green, and in the evening red (alexandrite). Such is the chameleon.

Corundum transparent intensively colored in the jewelry world has its names. Red minerals are known as rubies, green as chlorosapphires, blue as sapphires, colorless as leucosapphires. In the old days purple stones were called Bengal amethysts, violet - violet, red-violet - almandine sapphires. Transparent corundum, a stone of orange color, was called padparadzha, and yellow-pink - padparadshah.

In the old days, in the names of various variants of this mineral, jewelers and traders used the word "oriental", which was to emphasize the quality of the stones. Oriental diamonds, oriental emeralds, oriental aquamarines, eastern topaz and eastern chrysolites are all corundums of the corresponding shades. It's good that now these names are not used, otherwise there would be confusion.

Occasionally there is a stone of corundum with the effect of asterism. In such specimens, the correct six- or twelve-pointed star is seen, whose rays, when the stone is turned, move along its surface. Starry sapphires and rubies are highly valued.

Corundum - solid stone (on the Mohs scale - 9). Its surpasses in hardness only a diamond. Due to this property non-jewelry stones are used as abrasive materials (for cutting and grinding metal, glass). By the way, the word "emery" is synonymous with the word corundum. This mineral is also claimed as a refractory material.

Now the production of artificial corundum is set. They are obtained as a result of melting of bauxites with iron filings (as a reducing agent) in electric furnaces. Most of them are used in technology, in jewelry there are only some stones. For example, synthetic rubies are used in the watch industry as supporting stones, leucosapphires - in the electronic industry.

The corundum is mined mainly in India, Burma, Madagascar, Thailand, Sri Lanka. In Russia, there are also their deposits (in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Primorye, Chelyabinsk region, in the Urals).

Corundum - a stone, long recognized by Lithuanian therapists. And they use it depending on the color. It is believed that the blue stones normalize eye pressure. Red - improve blood flow, activate the activity of glands, balance the metabolism. Purple - facilitate various neuralgia and mental disorders. Orange - rejuvenates, improves digestion.

Corundum (stone) as a talisman perfectly suits psychologists, doctors, teachers, as well as all women who celebrated the 40th anniversary.