Victorian Pink Sapphire And Old Mine Cut Diamond Cluster Ring

Corundum is an allochromatic mineral that we know by its two highly prized varieties, sapphire and ruby. "Allochromatic" means that in it's purest form it is colorless, but the introduction of trace elements (also known as impurities) will cause it to take on just about any color in the rainbow. Sapphire can be yellow, orange, violet, pink, etc. The only color sapphire can NOT be is red - when corundum is red we call it "ruby". The impurity that gives both the ruby and the sapphire their respective red and pink hues is chromium. Prior to the 20th century, pink was thought of as light red and the pink sapphire would have still been classified as a ruby, just a lighter one. Sometimes gender was used to explain the difference in color, so a pink corundum would have been called a "female ruby" and a red corundum, a "male ruby". This Victorian cluster ring is fashioned in 14k yellow gold and features a .33ct pink sapphire set within an oval frame of old mine cut diamonds.