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Charles Sawyer invented the commercial quartz crystal manufacturing process in Cleveland, OH. This initiated the transition from mined and cut quartz for electrical appliances to manufactured quartz.

Quartz is also a type of piezoelectric crystal that creates electricity through a process called piezoelectricity when mechanical stress is put upon it. One of the earliest uses for a quartz crystal was a phonograph pickup. Today, one of the most ubiquitous piezoelectric uses of quartz is as a crystal oscillator -- in fact these oscillators are often simply called "quartzes". The same principle is also used for very accurate measurements of very small mass changes by means of the quartz crystal

Ruby is a red gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide) in which the color is caused mainly by chromium. Its name originates from ruber or rubrum, Latin for red. Natural rubies are exceptionally rare, though artificial ones (sometimes called created ruby) can be manufactured by the Verneuil process relatively inexpensively. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires.

Rubies are mined in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Greenland. They are most often found in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, though they have also been found in the U.S. states of Montana and South Carolina. Sometimes spinels are found along with rubies in the same geological formations and are mistaken for the more valuable gem. However, fine red spinels may approach the average ruby in value.

Rubies have a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, and among the natural gems are only surpassed by diamonds in hardness.

Ruby gemstones are valued according to several characteristics including size, color, clarity and cut. All natural rubies have imperfections in them, including color impurities and inclusions. On the other hand, artificial rubies may have no imperfections. The fewer the number and the less obvious the imperfections, the more valuable the ruby is unless there are no imperfections (i.e. "perfect"), in which case it is suspected of being artificially made and its status as a priceless gem is therefore not completely assured. Some manufactured rubies have dopants added to them so that they can be identified as artificial, but most require gemological testing to determine their origin.

A synthetic ruby crystal was used to create the first laser.

Rubies occasionally show asterism when cut into a cabochon. When they show this, they are reffered to as "star rubies." They can sometimes be more valuable than normal rubies because asterism is rare. The world's biggest ruby is the Rajaratna Ruby, which weighs 2,475 carats (495 g). Because the Rajaranta shows asterism, it is also the largest star ruby. The world's biggest double-star ruby (with a 12-pointed star) is the Neelanjali Ruby, weighing 1,370 carats (274 g). Both rubies currently belong to G. Vidyaraj from Bangalore, India.

Amethyst is traditionally included in the cardinal, or most valuable, gemstones, amethyst has lost much of its substantial value due to the discovery of extensive deposits in locations such as Brazil. Even high-quality examples are often sold in large unfinished slabs, or as geodes, in everyday locations.

Amethyst is the birthstone associated with February. It is also associated with the constellations of Pisces, Aries (especially the violet and purple variety), Aquarius, and Sagittarius. It is a symbol of heavenly understanding, and of the pioneer in thought and action on the philosophical, religious, spiritual and material planes. Ranking members of the Catholic Church traditionally wear rings set with a large amethyst as part of their office. Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used as an ornamental stone in jewelry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek a- ("not") and methustos ("intoxicated"), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication.