On 25/02/06, edward desilva <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Goanetters, > > Can any one please clarify why Bishops wear Saphire Rings. > For a start why rings and above all why Saphire Gem. > > Does it have any thing to do that the Popes down to the ordinary clergy once > consulted astrolgy for their daily activities? > That tradition is now followed without hindsight > > Edward.
RESPONSE: http://www.tyler-adam.com/31.html Rubies and Sapphires. Corundum is the family name. It is the mineral of which rubies and sapphires are varieties. The chemical symbol is Al2O3. When the corundum is red, it's a ruby. When it's any other color, it's a sapphire. Not always a blue sapphire. Sometimes it's a yellow sapphire. Or a green sapphire. Or black, or pink, etc. Aside from being cut into the gems most of us recognize, they are also carved into statues. The "Cote de Bretagne" ruby was carved into the shape of a dragon with outstretched wings. It's now in the Louvre museum in Paris. Confucius was carved from a sapphire. The stone was multi-colored, so at the end of the carving, Confucius' head was white, his trunk and arms were blue, and his legs were yellow. There is a sapphire engraved seal of King Alaric of the German Visigoths who died in 410. It shows a royal bust in full face wearing garments. When it comes to color and desirability, the Burma Ruby is known as the ruby of rubies. It's color ranges from a scarlet red--also known as pigeons's blood--to crimson or purple-violet. It's top of the line, folks. As for sapphires...for top of the line, we're talking Kashmir sapphire. It's essentially unobtainable today because the original mine is no longer worked. It's color is called a Kingfisher Blue and it has a slight velvety opacity. After diamonds, the corundums are the hardest substances. And...they can be quite expensive. In 1988 a 15.97 carat ruby sold for $3,630,000. That's over $227,000 a carat folks, and that ain't hay. So...Kings wear them and Queens wear them. Princesses wear them and Duchesses and Bishops and Cardinals wear them. Even regular members of the hoi poloi wear them, like Liz Taylor, and Luci Baines Johnson Nugent...well, maybe they're not hoi poloi, but we are, and we wear them too. For the eternally curious, Liz's and Luci's engagement rings were sapphire rings. So too, for that matter, were those of Princesses Anne and Diana. As to Fergie, the Duchess of York, her engagement ring was with a ruby. For the Catholic church, sapphires were the gems of choice for the rings of their bishops and cardinals. For the Buddhists, sapphires denoted friendship and faithfulness. For ancient Hindus, an offering of a ruby to their god Krishna ensured the return in their next life as that of an emperor. Of course, reasoning asks the question, if all Hindus offered a ruby to Krishna, and they all came back as emperors in their next lives, who would they rule? All chiefs and no Indians kind of thing, pun intended. As for the ancient Burmese they had rubies endowed with such iridescence, which blazed so brightly, that they lit up their cities at night. This, clearly, was in the days before Ben Franklin and Tom Edison, and so, without electricity at hand, they had to make do with what they had. -- TUMCHER AXIRVAD ASSUM; DEV BOREM KORUM. Gabe Menezes. London, England
