Ruby and Pink Sapphire – they are from the same family of mineral, Corundum. They are chemically identical, but they are purely different from each other because of their color variations, availability, and price. It is very hard to draw a link between them; you can check the following image for that:

The similarity between Ruby and Pink Sapphire:

1. The hardness of Ruby and Pink Sapphire is the same, which is 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
2. The Refractive Index of both minerals is between 1.757 and 1.779.
3. The specific gravity of Ruby and Pink Sapphire is the same, which is 3.99 to 4.0.

The color of the Ruby and Pink Sapphire is the main difference between both minerals. You can find Corundum in a wide variety of colors like darker pink, Light pink, blue, red,  black, white, yellow, and green, and almost every shade in between them. Conventionally, the red variety of Corundum is called Ruby, whereas all other shades are called Sapphire.

The red color in Ruby occurs because of the chromium impurity whereas the colors of Sapphire are the result of iron, titanium, and chromium impurities. It is hard to find the difference between Pink Sapphire and light Red Ruby. There are no specific rules that which shade of red represents Ruby and which shade of pink represents Sapphire. The color of Ruby varies from intense purple-red to lighter orange-red and the color of Pink Sapphire varies from hot pink to pale pink or redder.

What some unscrupulous sellers do, they sell these Pink Sapphires as light Red Ruby. The reason behind this is that Pink Sapphire is the less expensive in the Corundum family. They do this job very frequently to the post consumers and people who do not know the gemstones. Pink Sapphire is quite reasonably priced compared to Ruby and more commonly mined. Though fine Pink Sapphires are also rare, fine Rubies in bigger sizes are rarer. Sellers sell Pink Sapphire as Rubies so that they can gain maximum profit. Ruby and Pink Sapphire look alike, so, it will be easy for them to sell them to novice consumers. Though, people attract to Pink Sapphire because they think that this is light Red Ruby and more affordable.

Four of the above are the Corundum with the same hue, which is red, but with different saturation and tone. If you see, you think that 3 and 4 are Rubies, as most of the sellers tell their customers. 1 classifies as Pink Sapphire and 2, light Red Ruby to some consumers and a rare Pink Sapphire to others. The above image clears all the variations in Pink Sapphire and sellers to sell it as Ruby so they can earn a good profit.

If you are going to buy Red Ruby, then you should be extra careful when buying it. You can ask for the originality certificate from the seller because real Rubies are very rare and expensive. They are dark red in color and Blood Red sometimes. The availability of both the minerals put a direct influence on their prices. Pink Sapphires are more common than Rubies and can be found in bigger sizes and nine times out of ten, Rubies are much higher priced than Pink Sapphires.

 

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The color of these minerals is depending on their origin as well. The world’s finest Ruby is originated from Myanmar (Burma). Other than Myanmar – Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia are the main sources where Ruby is mined. In the Burmese Ruby, there is a strong red fluorescence and long u. v. light. In Thai Ruby, the color is darker red because of the presence of Ferrous (Iron), which produces a brownish to purple overtone. Sri Lankan Rubies are typically more pinkish, which are referred to as Pink Sapphire in some cases. Cambodian Rubies have the same characteristics as Thai Rubies have.

Sri Lanka and Burma are the classic sources for Pink Sapphire. But nowadays, Pink Sapphire is also mined in Africa from Madagascar and Tanzania. The concentration of chromium determines the depth of color and the traces of vanadium result in violet tones in Pink Sapphire.

 

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If you are a consumer and going to buy a Ruby, then you should be careful about what you are buying. You should check its beauty by analyzing its attractive color, brilliance, and transparency. Then its quality depends upon its color, clarity, cut, and carat. These four Cs constitute different shades of Red, inclusions, sharpness, and size. And, last but not the least, its value. The value depends on that the Ruby is natural or synthetic, treated or not and what is its country of origin. You should keep all the things in your mind while going to but a true Ruby for you.

In general, Ruby and Pink Sapphire both are beautiful gemstones from Corundum. Chemically, both are the same, but the percentage of chromium creates the difference between them. The presence of chromium is higher than 0.9% in Ruby, whereas chromium presence is lower than 0.5% in Pink Sapphire. So, if you are not able to check this percentage, then you better ask for the genuine certificate from the seller for both of the gemstones.

The metaphysical properties of Ruby and Pink Sapphire have also created a big difference between them. Ruby is well known for intense passion and good luck, whereas Sapphire is associated with sincerity and divine knowledge. If Ruby protects you from misfortune, then Sapphire gives you blessings. People use Ruby as personal inspiration and Sapphire for faithfulness. If we talk about the classic birthstone, then Ruby is associated with December, and Sapphire is associated with April, whereas in the modern context Ruby is the birthstone of July and Sapphire is September.