Sapphire

This gemstone exists in all the shades of blue skies, from the deep blue of evening skies to the bright and deep blue of a clear and beautiful summer sky which charms all people.

Blue is Sapphire’s main color. Blue is also the favourite color of about 50 per cent of the population, men and women alike. This color, which is strongly associated with sapphire, is also linked to emotions such as sympathy and harmony, friendship and loyalty. These emotions belong to features which are permanent and reliable emotions where overwhelming and fiery passion is not the main element, but rather composure, mutual understanding and unshakeable trust. Sapphire blue has thus become a color related to anything permanent and reliable, and this is one of the reasons why women in many countries settle on Sapphire for their engagement rings. Sapphire symbolises loyalty and faithfulness, while at the same time expressing love and yearning.
 

  What makes Sapphire a fancy stone?

Its beauty, magnificent colors, its transparency but also its resistance and permanence are characteristics which gemstone lovers and experts assign to this gemstone. Sapphire belongs to the corundum group which is set apart from other gemstones by their very good hardness (Grade 9 on the Mohs’ scale). They are second in hardness to diamonds only, and diamonds represent the hardest mineral on Earth! Because of their good harness, sapphires are easy to care for as gemstones and demand from their wearers only the usual and normal care.

The corundum group consists of pure aluminium oxide, which a long time ago was caused to crystallise into beautiful and splendid gemstones by the pressure and heat in the depths of the ground. Small proportions of other elements, mainly iron and chrome, are responsible for the resulting colors and make the basically white crystals a blue, red, yellow, pink or greenish Sapphire. But this dies not necessarily imply that any corundum is a sapphire. Which stone may be termed a Sapphire – this is a question which for centuries has fuelled heated discussions among experts. Finally agreement was achieved to call ruby-red Sapphires "Rubies”, and all other colors "Sapphires".

  Top-Sapphires are rare :

Sapphires, these gemstones of the skies, rest hidden away in only few places of the earth and have to be brought to daylight in laborious procedures. Sapphires are found in India, Burma, Ceylon, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Brazil and Africa. From the gemstone mines the rough crystals are supplied to the cutters, where skilled hands turn the into sparkling gemstones. A cutter must draw on all his experience and deftness when cutting sapphire, because these gemstones are not only hard, they also display a different coloring and satiation depending on the perspective. Therefore, then, the cutter must align the orientation of the stone in such a way as to bring about the best possible display of color.

The oldest Sapphire mines are situated in Ceylon, today called Sri Lanka, where gemstones were mined in ancient times. The expert recognizes Ceylon sapphires from the luminosity and brilliance of their light to medium blue color. Most blue Sapphires, however, come from Thailand or Australia.

Their value depends on size, color and transparency. For very fine qualities these criteria are supplemented by information on the origin of the gemstone. The color as such is not necessarily linked to the geographic origin of the Sapphire, and this explains why there are such enormous price differences between the respective qualities. The most valuable sapphires are real Cashmere stones. Almost as highly cherished are stones from Burma, followed by Ceylon-Sapphires.

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