Sapphire is the birthstone of September

Sapphire is the birthstone of September.

Sapphires are among the most valuable precious gems. The price ranges from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars per carat. They come in all colors of the rainbow, the most valuable being blue, pink and orange, and blue sapphires are the most popular.  The highest quality sapphires are sourced from Sri Lanka; these are called Ceylon sapphires.  Sapphires from Burma are also of high quality but are very rare. Today many come from Madagascar and are generally dark in color.  Some are sourced from Thailand, but have a grey overtone without much brilliance.  This gem is also found in the United States, in the state of Montana but lack a  rich blue color.  Quality is based on color and brilliance.  The closer to a vivid royal blue, with high brilliance, the higher the quality and value.  Some orange sapphires are called padparadscha sapphires, the term is derived from the Sinhalese word for lotus flower.  Padparadscha sapphires are only found in Sri Lanka, and are the rarest of all sapphires.

There has been a recent trend for colored diamonds in engagement rings.  Colored diamonds, such as pink diamonds can come at a very high cost.  Colored sapphires are an excellent substitute.  We have created many engagement rings using colored sapphires to better fit the clients budget.  Sapphires are highly durable stones, they are rated 9 on the Mohs scale, compared to 10 rating of diamond, and 7-8 of other stones, making them ideal for everyday wear.

Ancient folklore claims the sapphire will give its wearer spiritual enlightenment and inner peace.  In the Middle Ages sapphires were used as an antidote to poison and thought to treat colic and rheumatism as well as ease mental illness.  Members of royalty wore sapphires around their necks to protect from envy, poison and harm. 

Sapphires have been used among royalty for centuries.  A very famous sapphire from recent years is princess Diana’s engagement ring which contains a 18 carat blue Ceylon sapphire surrounded by white diamonds in white gold.  This ring is now worn by Kate Middleton.  Other famous icons that have had sapphire engagement rings include Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford and Jean Harlowe.

There are many different treatments being used today on sapphires.  The only accepted form of treatment for fine jewelry is heat treatment.  All other treatments significantly reduce it’s value.  Recently the beryllium treatment is becoming common, especially in stones coming from Asia.  This is when beryllium is added to sapphires to enhance or change the color.  Other treatments include irradiation, where the color of the stone is changed at a molecular level.  Fracture fills are a temporary and unstable method to make cracks and inclusions less noticeable. This treatment can be removed revealing large and unattractive inclusions it has been masking.  Surface dyes are used to change the color of a stone which also can be easily removed.  Often this treatment is used to pass off an impostor gemstone as a sapphire.  These treatments often go undisclosed so it is important to buy sapphires from a reliable source.

Now let's talk about one of the most important factors; the cut.  There is no standard “ideal” cut for sapphires as there are for diamonds.  Each sapphire is cut individually to bring out the best possible color and brilliance.  Due to this individualized cutting, they generally are not graded by gem laboratories.  As a result jewelers set their own standards for quality which they determine based on color and cut.  There are many stones that are cut too deep or too shallow.  A shallow or bad cut can cause a  very common window effect where you can see through the stone.  If a cut is too deep you are paying more for the weight.  Cut is very important for the overall look which is why we only pick perfectly cut stones. 

By Viktoriya Gulko