# Sapphire screens coming for smart phones! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sapphire-screens-coming-for-smart-phones/656968 "2013-04-29T00:04:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sapphire-screens-coming-for-smart-phones/656968/1 "2013-04-29T00:04:37Z")
Neat! [Sapphire is unscratchable, unbreakable, and the next big thing in touchscreens](http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/sapphire-is-unscratchable-unbreakable-and-the-next-hot-thing-in-touchscreens) ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sapphire-screens-coming-for-smart-phones/656968/2 "2013-04-29T01:17:36Z")
Small nitpick - sapphire absolutely will shatter if dropped hard enough - as plenty of people with expensive watches can attest. I don’t believe they are even that much more break proof than normal - but I could be wrong. They absolutely are more scratch resistant. And when they shatter - my understanding is they really shatter (my recollection from seeing pics - been lucky myself). ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sapphire-screens-coming-for-smart-phones/656968/3 "2013-04-29T01:30:42Z")
Are these the same sapphires used in gemstones… rings and necklaces etc.? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sapphire-screens-coming-for-smart-phones/656968/4 "2013-04-29T01:45:17Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Are these the same sapphires used in gemstones… rings and necklaces etc.? it’s just crystalline aluminum oxide (Al2O3, aka corundum.) aluminum oxide gemstones are called ruby if they include impurities which tint them red, sapphire if the impurities tint them bluish. it’s fairly trivial to manufacture corundum; manufactured rubies/sapphires are pretty cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sapphire-screens-coming-for-smart-phones/656968/5 "2013-04-29T03:25:21Z")
What they need to do is that multilayer technique used in car windows: the hard stuff on the outside to deal with scratches, and a more flexible layer in the middle to deal with shocks and bending. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sapphire-screens-coming-for-smart-phones/656968/6 "2013-04-29T03:48:21Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > it’s just crystalline aluminum oxide (Al2O3, aka corundum.) aluminum oxide gemstones are called ruby if they include impurities which tint them red, sapphire if the impurities tint them bluish. it’s fairly trivial to manufacture corundum; manufactured rubies/sapphires are pretty cheap. Yes - I think when many people hear “sapphire crystal” with regards to a watch - they think there is a blue crystal gem somewhere on the watch - or they are talking about a quartz like crystal inside the watch. Nope - when you hear “sapphire crystal” they mean the big glass like thing on top of the dial. Plastic is of course the cheapest, then mineral crystal, then sapphire. And as jz78817 points out - it really is chemically the same as a real sapphire or ruby - just grown in a lab - and without the impurities to impart color. Virtually all expensive watches come with sapphire crystals - one notable exception being the “moon watch” Speedmaster Professional by Omega that comes in both a sapphire version - and a hesalite version (type of plastic). This was the same watch worn to the moon - and the hesalite version was chosen over the sapphire version - as it is shock proof and NASA was supposedly concerned about what would happen if the crystal shattered in space - bunch of tiny sharp projectiles in space not a good idea.