Sapphires Don’t Take Millions Of Years To Form
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, September 25, 2024
Introduction
In the secular religion, the claim is that sapphires took
millions of years to form. The story goes that deep within the Earth, heat and
pressure slowly formed sapphires over long ages, such as through slow
continental collisions.
These sapphires were supposedly transferred to the surface
by magma or deposited in lava formations after an eruption. Sometimes
secularists claim it was crustal plate movements that brought sapphires to the
surface. Famous London jeweler David Morris states:
“No one is exactly sure how
long-ago sapphire gemstones were formed. However, we do know that the sapphires
which are discovered today were formed around 150 to 200 million years ago.”[1]
Morris goes on this say:
“Sapphire stones are formed deep
within the Earth when aluminium and oxygen atoms combine under high heat and
pressure. They develop slowly over millions of years in particular types of
rocks.”[2]
I asked Google, “how are natural sapphires formed?” Google’s
AI spit out the first sentences as:
“Sapphires are rare and valuable
gemstones that are formed naturally over millions of years deep within the
Earth's crust”[3]
Tyler Hayden, writing for the Natural History Museum quotes Dr.
Aaron Celestian, Curator of Mineral Sciences that:
‘“If you look closely at it, you
might see some bands of light-colored, dark color, light, dark, dark, light,
dark, light, dark, and those are representative of the growth patterns of the
mineral,”…“If there's a period of time where there's fast crystal growth, then
one of those bands is going to be big. Or if there's a period of time where
there's lots of impurities around, then one of those bands is going to be
darker in color. So they're recording all those events that are taking place
all in that one crystal.” There’s millions of years of geologic happenings in
one dazzling blue package.’[4]
The point is that many have espoused millions of years of
unobserved and unrepeated time as the origin of sapphires. This is a religious
commitment, not a scientific one, and I think that is worth noting.
Interestingly, secular researchers have challenged some of
these claims—whether they meant to or not—based on research samples in volcanic
deposits from Eifel, Germany. Let’s take a look at an overview of this
research.
Eifel Research?
Researchers collected sapphire samples from volcanic rock
layers in Eifel, Germany, from Cretaceous rock (Flood rock). They studied these
samples and concluded that sapphires within them were formed far more recently,
during a newer eruptive phase of the volcano when either magma or lava was
flowing. It was when the lava or magma was interacting with the clayey material
near the surface, introducing the necessary impurities to form sapphire.
The point is that these sapphires were not formed deep in
the Earth under extreme heat and pressure over long periods of time and then
transported to the surface. Instead, they were actually formed near the surface
with the heat, necessary elements, and sufficient pressure to do the job
rapidly before cooling and solidifying.
What this means is that deep time is not necessary for the
formation of the sapphires in this region—just the right conditions: heat, some
pressure, and the right elements in the right quantities. In fact, that was all
that was ever needed. “Millions of years” were never required to form natural
sapphires.
What Is Sapphire?
Sapphire is a crystal oxide in the corundum mineral
family—aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) to be specific. When it contains certain trace
elements, it can take on different tints and colors. Rubies are also in the
corundum mineral family. When Al₂O₃ contains iron, it turns deep red and is
called a ruby.
So rubies and sapphires are essentially the same thing, with
different types of trace elements in them. Rubies are a specific form with iron
traces, while sapphires result from other trace elements instead of iron.
Other gemstones have entirely different chemical
compositions. For example, diamonds are pure carbon (C), emeralds are
Be₃Al₂(SiO₃)₆, topaz is Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂, amethysts are SiO₂, and carnelian
(sardion/sardius) is also SiO₂, with traces of iron oxide (hematite), which
gives it a reddish to orangish hue.
Corundum (aluminum oxide, e.g., Al₂O₃) usually contains traces of titanium, iron, vanadium, or chromium, but sometimes other trace elements as well. If it were completely pure, without any trace elements, it would be clear, as the trace elements give it its luster.
As a crystal, sapphires and rubies have a crystal structure.
There are various types of crystalline structures, such as body-centered cubic
(BCC), face-centered cubic (FCC), or hexagonal. Sapphires and rubies, being
aluminum oxide, have a natural hexagonal crystal structure.
The Bible mentions rubies 8 times (Job 28:18; Proverbs 3:15,
8:11, 20:15, 31:10; Isaiah 54:12; Lamentations 4:7; Ezekiel 27:16), and
sapphires are mentioned 12 times (Exodus 24:10, 28:18, 39:11; Job 28:6, 28:16;
Song of Solomon 5:14; Lamentations 4:7; Isaiah 54:11; Ezekiel 1:26, 10:1,
28:13; Revelation 21:19). Many other gemstones are also mentioned in Scripture.
Does It Require Millions Of Years To Form Sapphires And Rubies?
But does it really take millions of years to make these
precious gems? No. It is common to find gemstones like sapphires (and rubies)
in volcanic deposits. This indicates a relationship between rapid production
and volcanic conditions.
Furthermore, researchers have known how to make sapphires
and rubies in labs for years, and lab-grown gems are commonly found in jewelry
today. No long ages are required. One of the primary methods mimics the natural
process of heat, pressure, and the presence of trace elements.
Solution Process (e.g., Hydrothermal Synthesis): This
method mimics the natural process quickly and is less expensive. The gems are
not as large as those made by Flame Fusion (the next method).
Flame Fusion or Melt Processes (e.g., the Verneuil
Process or the Czochralski Process): This method can grow up to 4 inches of
sapphire crystal per hour and is more expensive.
A third method utilizes a solution process through either
(1) Flux Growth, where solid material is melted, and dissolved minerals from
that melt form crystals as the solution cools, or (2) Hydrothermal Growth, used
to make synthetic quartz. This process is expensive but also requires heat,
pressure, and dissolved minerals in a watery solution to synthesize crystals.
The point is that sapphire can be made rapidly without long
ages (e.g., an inch of sapphire per 15 minutes, for example). The Eifel
research is a good confirmation that natural sapphire formation defies the
long-age scenario in favor of recent, rapid synthesis, similar to what is done
in the lab.
Though the Eifel researchers wouldn’t affirm a biblical
timeline, as they still wanted to leave open a couple of million years (based
on their worldview)[5], the
research fits nicely into the biblical framework. Volcanic activity was
prominent during the Flood and early post-Flood periods, especially during the
rapid mountain-building phases. I would love for future researchers to study a
recent, active volcano and take a closer look at the production of natural
sapphire with rapid formation in mind.
[1]
David Morris, History of the Sapphire Stone, September 4, 2023,
davidmorris.com, https://davidmorris.com/history-of-the-sapphire-stone/.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Google AI, Asked on September 23, 2024.
[4]
Tyler Hayden, The Splendor of Sapphires, Natural History Museum (L.A. County), accessed
September 23, 2024, https://nhm.org/stories/splendor-sapphires.
[5] Stephanie
Pappas Sapphires form inside the fiery hearts of volcanoes, not deep in the
mantle like we thought, Live Science, August
6, 2024, https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/geology/sapphires-form-inside-the-fiery-hearts-of-volcanoes-not-deep-in-the-mantle-like-we-thought.
