Four Treasures Reference Database
Record No. 16990
De la couleur bleue du saphir, de la lazulite et du lapis-lazuli; de la couleur verte de l’emeraude et la couleur pourpre de l’amthyste
On the blue color of sapphire, lazulite, and lapis lazuli; the green color of emerald, and the purple color of amethyst
Journal Article
Ross, W.A. (1882) De la couleur bleue du saphir, de la lazulite et du lapis-lazuli; de la couleur verte de l’emeraude et la couleur pourpre de l’amthyste. [On the blue color of sapphire, lazulite, and lapis lazuli; the green color of emerald, and the purple color of amethyst] Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Series 5, Vol. 27, pp. 532–536.
Sinkankas/Born No.: NIS/NIB | Language: in French | RWHL
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gems, corundum, color.4, lazurite, lapis lazuli, emerald, amethyst, beryl
Ross discusses the causes of color in sapphire, lazulite, lapis lazuli, emerald, and amethyst, considering the chemical constituents responsible for their characteristic blue, green, and purple hues. He examines contemporary explanations for gemstone coloration and relates color to the presence of small quantities of metallic compounds or other coloring substances within otherwise colorless mineral materials. Particular attention is given to the blue coloration of sapphire and lapis lazuli, the green of emerald, and the purple of amethyst. The paper represents an early attempt to explain gem coloration in chemical terms and illustrates late nineteenth-century ideas concerning the relationship between trace constituents and color in minerals.