Description

Sapphire - gem of the heavens, the divine gemstone, has been cherished for thousands of years. The ancient Persians believed that the earth rested on a giant sapphire and its reflection colored the sky.

Sapphire is found in all the colors: from midnight blue to the bright blue of noon sky, golden sunrise to reddish-orange, and the delicate violet of twilight. The most famous and valuable sapphires are a truly royal blue. Sapphire is the September birthstone, when the most babies are born. Sapphire symbolizes sincerity and faithfulness and is an excellent choice for an engagement ring. When Prince Charles gave Princess Diana a sapphire engagement ring, couples all over the world were inspired to revive this ancient tradition.

Quality sapphires mainly come from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Australia, Cambodia. United States, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, China and Madagascar also produce some sapphire. The deposits in Montana in the United States produce a range of fancy colors, and deep blue sapphires from one of the world's largest deposits at Yogo Gulch where sapphires are small in size but have a beautiful blue.

Kashmir and Burma are the most famous sources for sapphire. Kashmir sapphire, which was discovered over 100 years ago has a rich velvety color prized by professionals. Burma sapphires, from the same region that produces excellent rubies, are also very fine. Unfortunately, today, these two countries produce very small quantity of the sapphire. Most fine sapphire on the market today comes from Sri Lanka, which produces a wide range of beautiful blues from delicate sky-blue colors to rich saturated hues. Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Pailin in Cambodia are renowned for deep blue, even colors. Two relatively new mining localities are showing promise: Madagascar, which has produced some exceptionally fine stones in small sizes but has no organized mining yet, and Tanzania, which has long produced sapphire in other colors but is starting to produce blue colors as well from a new deposit in the south.

Sapphires are available in every color but red. Sapphire in colors other than blue is often referred to as fancy sapphire. The most valuable sapphires have a medium intense, vivid blue color. The best sapphires hold the brightness of their color under all different types of lighting. Any black, gray, or green overtones mixed in with the blue will reduce a stone's value. In general, a more pastel blue would be less preferred than a vivid blue but would be priced higher than an over dark blackish blue color.

As with all gemstones, sapphires which are "clean" and have few visible inclusions or tiny flaws are the most valuable. However, some very fine sapphires, in particular those from Kashmir, have a velvety mist-like texture which enhances the richness of the blue.

Sapphires are most often cut in a cushion shape - a rounded rectangle - or an oval shape. You can also find smaller sapphires in round brilliant cuts and a wide variety of fancy shapes, including triangles, squares, emerald cuts, marquises, pear shapes, baguette shapes, and cabochon cuts, or smooth domes.

By some estimates 99.9% of sapphires are heated at very high temperatures to improve the color or clarity and reduce cloudiness that is caused by rutile inclusions. This process dissolves trace elements already present in the sapphire. There is no price difference between heated and non-heated sapphires. It is very difficult to scratch sapphire which is harder than any other gem (9 on the Mohs scale) but diamond. Synthetic sapphire is used for scratch-resistant instruments, optical scanners, watch crystals, etc. because of its durability.