Sensational Sapphires
Photo: Michael Stillwell
The September birthstone is the gorgeous sapphire, prized for its beauty and durability. Sapphires have traditionally symbolized sincerity, truth, faithfulness, and nobility. For centuries, they have adorned royalty and the robes of the clergy.
Corundum Conundrum
Typically known for its intense blue color, sapphire actually occurs in every color of the rainbow, but all colors of sapphire are of the gem species corundum. Corundum with the trace elements iron and titanium create blue sapphires. When the trace element is chromium, you have red, better known as a ruby. You would never classify something as a red sapphire because it is a ruby!
Photo: Robert Weldon/GIA, Dr. Eduard J. Gübelin Collection.
Each sapphire color has its own beneficial properties.
- Blue: Good for those intent on finding spiritual truth.
- Yellow: Brings prosperity, stimulates the intellect, and removes toxins from the body.
- White: Elevates spirituality and cosmic consciousness.
- Purple: Improves meditation and psychic abilities, and calms overwrought emotions.
- Green: Improves capacity for compassion, loyalty, and trust in others; also enhances recall of dreams.
- Pink: Removes emotional stumbling blocks and illuminates the path to higher consciousness.
- Black: Builds careers and the power of intuition.
Other rare and unique finds
Padparadscha Sapphires: The padparadscha is a pinkish orange variety of sapphire and is one of the rarest colored stones. Its romantic name is based on an ancient Sanskrit word meaning “lotus flower.” This stone is much more rare than fine Kashmir sapphire or Burmese ruby!
Star Sapphires: Sapphires can display asterism or the “star effect” due to rutile inclusions in the gem’s crystal matrix. When all things are present and correctly arranged, a proper cut cabochon can create six-rayed star sapphires. Star corundum can be red, pink, blue, black, gray, brown, purple, or yellow. The term “star sapphire” includes all colors of star corundum except red, which is called star ruby.
The Star of India was mined in Sri Lanka. Currently held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It is a 563.35-carat (112.67 g) star sapphire, one of the largest such gems in the world. It is almost flawless and is unusual in that it has stars on both sides of the stone.
Color Change Sapphires: Color-change sapphires are like a magic trick before your eyes. They are the chameleons of sapphires. These stones change color under different lighting.
- Daylight equivalent (fluorescent or LED daylight-balanced) light - basic color ranges from blue to violet.
- Incandescent light - ranges from violetish purple to strongly reddish purple. Some rare color-change sapphires change from green in daylight to reddish brown in incandescent light.
Searching for Sapphires
Sapphires have been mined for centuries in Myanmar (formerly Burma), Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), and Kashmir, but are also found in Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Madagascar, and the U.S. (Montana), as well as other countries in Asia and Africa.
The most highly prized sapphires come from Kashmir. These stones could only be found a few months out of the year, high in the Himalayas. Unfortunately, these sources are now depleted. In addition to their fine color, what sets them apart from all others is their very fine silk inclusions. These scatter light and give the stone a soft, velvety appearance. Legendary!
Typical topography of the area where the Kashmir sapphire mines are located in the Himalayas. Photo: Travel the Himalayas
Ceylon sapphires are also highly desirable, as they display exceptional brilliance and saturation and are often lighter and brighter. At 466 carats, the Blue Giant of the Orient is the largest faceted sapphire in the world measuring 2.5” across. After the gem was discovered in Sri Lanka in 1907, the ring was bought by an American collector and vanished completely from the public eye. Nearly a century later it resurfaced at a 2004 Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction, where it became the largest faceted sapphire ever to be auctioned. Photo: The Saffronart Blog
The Logan Sapphire was also mined in Sri Lanka. Currently located in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington. A flawless specimen, a cushion-cut stone which boasts a rich deep blue color and is the second largest blue sapphire known, weighing 422.99 carats (84.6 g). It is roughly the size of an egg. Named after Polly Logan, who donated the gemstone to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960. Photo: Natural Blue Sapphires
Identifying Characteristics
Natural sapphires were formed millions of years ago by intense pressure and heat up to 15 miles beneath the earth’s surface. Earth-mined sapphires are far more valuable, rare, and durable than lab-created versions. Inclusions, luminescence, and absorption spectra can all provide clues as to whether a sapphire is natural or lab-created, the geographic origin, and whether any treatments have been applied.
Natural sapphires are often treated to improve their color or clarity – the most common treatment is heating the stone, often to more than 2500 degrees!
Cultural differences are reflected in the names associated with some gems. Sometimes a name can be worth a lot of money. In one such case as with pink corundum. In the US, this stone is commonly known as pink sapphire, and is worth less than ruby of comparable quality.
Outside of the U.S. dealers might call this stone “ruby” and ask higher prices for it. The difference between pink sapphire and ruby depends on where the culture draws the line between pink and red. Being aware of the distinction can help avoid overspending when the “rubies” bought in Thailand are perceived by U.S. buyers as pink sapphire.
Famous Sapphire Jewelry
Sapphires have a long history with British royalty, from Crown Jewels to wedding jewelry.
The oval shaped sapphire weighing 104 carats is part of the Royal Crown Jewels of Queen Elizabeth II. Now on view with the other crown jewels in the Tower of London.
The beautiful 12 carat oval-cut sapphire and diamond halo worn first by Princess Diana and now by Duchess Kate Middleton is the most famous sapphire engagement ring in the world. Photo: GemSelect
Sources: GIA, IGS, The National Sapphire Company
Summing up Sapphires
Because of its rarity, beauty, versatility, and durability, sapphire is considered one of the “Big 3” colored gems (Sapphire, Ruby, and Emerald). It can command higher prices than even diamond! It is relatively hard, ranking 9 on the Mohs scale meaning it has a very strong resistance to scratching, and it has excellent toughness and no cleavage. This makes sapphire jewelry great go-to pieces for daily wear!