## 1 Introduction  
Gem-quality minerals have been very significant throughout human history. Due to desirable attributes of beauty, rarity, durability, and portability, as well as the transient appeal of fashion, gemstones have attained a valuable status in human life. Due to these factors, the provenance of gemstones is a widely discussed topic for geologists, historians, gemmologists, and others in the gem industry. The identification and characterization of minerals/materials is important from an analytical point of view. Therefore, mineralologists, petrologists, and gemmologists use a wide range of simple to sophisticated methods to identify and characterize minerals [1, 2]. Gemstones can be characterized by several analytical methods. The characterization of gemstones is generally performed using different methods like the measurement of the index of refraction [3], UV-visible spectroscopy [4], analysis of fluid and mineral inclusions [5], infrared and Raman spectroscopy [6], and the characterization of crystallographic features typical of specific minerals or mineraloids [7; 8]. For example, particle-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) analytical methods are applied to ruby and sapphire with the aim of obtaining their qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses and determining their provenance. The application of multivariate analysis on the PIXE data of ruby samples allowed the identification the trace elements V, Cr, Fe, Ti, and Ga [9; 10]. The recent development of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used for trace element analysis in gems, although this technique causes marginal sample destruction [11; 12]. Metamorphic and magmatic blue sapphire samples from various locations could be discriminated utilizing the Ga/Mg ratio obtained from LA-ICP-MS analyses [13]. In another study, the provenance of sapphires from different locations was determined by applying multivariate statistics to LA-ICP-MS data of Mg, Si, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, and Ga [14; 15]. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), neutron activation analysis (NAA), particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron microprobe analysis (EPMA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used for the analysis of gemstones, but due to high cost, sample destruction, and further limitations, these techniques cannot be used for all the different gemmological investigations [16]. The ideal method for gem analysis should be simple, quick, cost-effective, reliable, and involve minimal to no sample damage. Therefore, to study gemstones and other minerals, a marginally destructive quick and multi-element spectroscopic technique is imperative. LIBS is an innovative technique that has proven its suitability over the last few decades in various fields of academic and applied research [17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22]. This technique is advantageous over many other spectroscopic methods due to its cost-effective, precise, and fast multi-elemental identification capability that can be applied online and in situ. In this technique, all the elements present in any type of material can simultaneously be detected without significant destruction of the sample. Moreover, with a single laser shot, this technique is cumulatively sensitive to all atomic species/elements, even those present in small (as trace elements) amounts, including lighter species such as C, B, Be, H, and Li [17]. In just a few micro-seconds, with a single laser shot, the LIB spectrum appears on the screen that can be comprehended as a chemical \"fingerprint\" of the sample [18]. Hence, the LIB spectrum can be used for qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative analyses of the sample. The point detection capability of LIBS offers the potential for determining the spatial distribution of different minerals in gemstones.