What differentiates sapphire glass from natural sapphire?

Sapphire glass generally refers to synthetic sapphire, which is commonly used in the manufacture of watch glass, and it is distinct from natural sapphire, the jewellery that people normally understand. Similarly to tungsten-titanium alloys and high-tech ceramics, sapphire glass is also highly resistant to abrasion. Despite their high resistance to abrasion, these materials are vulnerable to the damage of strong impacts, which may result in surface scratching when they are exposed to materials with similar or higher hardness, including sandpaper, grinding stones, granite, concrete walls, and floors.

Sapphire is the general term for other colored corundum gemstones, except for red rubies, and its main component is aluminum oxide (Al2O3). Sapphire glass refers to synthetic sapphire that can be easily and cheaply produced in the laboratory, whose chemical composition and physical properties are the same as those of natural sapphire. Synthetic sapphire is made of pure aluminum oxide produced at high temperatures, and it is very hard and highly transparent. Chemically, there is no difference between synthetic sapphire and natural sapphire crystal, as no other elements have been added, so it is colorless and transparent.

Sapphire glass is a synthetic material that combines the advantages of plastic glass and ore glass. It is characterized by an extremely high density and hardness of Mohs’ 9, which is only surpassed by diamond of Mohs’ 10. With high resistance to scratching and high transparency, even in the case of impact, sapphire glass will only produce cracks, rather than the whole piece being broken. Although sapphire glass is resistant to abrasion and scratches, the fragility of sapphire is an inevitable disadvantage. It is therefore inadvisable to subject the sapphire glass to any impacts, whether from a bump, pressure, heavy fall, or any other inappropriate operations in use.