Facts and figures about Sapphires.
History:
The sky is just a gigantic blue
Sapphire stone into which the earth is embedded – this belief
was cherished in ancient times. And, in fact, does there exist
a better image to describe the beauty of an immaculate
Sapphire of purest blue? 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. The splendid gemstone, however, also
comes in many other colours, not only in the transparent
greyish misty blue of far horizons, but also displaying the
bright fireworks of sunset colours – yellow, pink, orange and
purple. So Sapphires are really and truly heavenly stones,
although they are being found in the hard soil of our
so-called "blue planet”.
Blue is Sapphire’s main colour. Blue is also the favourite
colour of about 50 per cent of the population, men and women
alike. This colour, 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 colour 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. The most famous musical example for this melancholic
shade of blue can be found in George Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in
Blue". Sapphire’s blue colour is also evoked where clear
competence and controlled brainwork are the issue. After all,
the first computer ever to wrangle a victory from a chess
grandmaster and world champion was named "Deep Blue".
What makes Sapphire a fancy stone?
Its beauty, magnificent colours,
its transparency but also its resistance and permanence are
characteristics which gemstone lovers and experts assign to
this gemstone – however, this does not only apply to blue
Sapphire as will be pointed out later on. 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 colours 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
colours "Sapphires".
If we talk about Sapphires, most gemstone lovers will
immediately think of a velvety blue. It is an adaptable colour
which is attractive on many people. A blue Sapphire is
optimally suited to a well-balanced style of life, where
reliability is joined with spirit, and where there is an
openness for new ideas and influences – just like the woman
wearing it. The fact that this beautiful gemstone does also
exist in many other colours was for a long time an piece of
information known to insiders only. In the gemstone trade any
non-blue Sapphire is termed "fancy”. And to clear up matters
the colour denominations are also used, so that when talking
about fancy Sapphires, we talk about yellow, purple, pink,
green or white Sapphire, etc. Fancy sapphires are the epitome
of individualism, the perfect choice for women who love unique
coloured gemstone jewellery. These Sapphires exist in a
charming variety of designs - set in rings, as pendants or
earrings, as solitary stones, in elegant line-ups or as
sparkling pavée.
But there are even more surprises about Sapphire: for example,
there is an orange colour variety with a fine pinkish
undertone, which has been given the poetic name ”Padparadsha”,
meaning "lotus flower”. Another rarity are the star Sapphires.
These are stone cut in half-dome shape displaying a
star-shaped light phenomenon, which seems to dance magically
across the stone’s surface when the Sapphire is moved. There
exist rumours about gemstone lovers who have forever and truly
lost their hearts to these sapphire rarities – but then,
permanence and loyalty come along with these stones.
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 colouring 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 colour.
Depending on the place of occurrence the depth of colour as
well as the shade displayed by the cut stones will vary, which
in turn offers a wider range to select from. So shall a woman
who has decided on a sapphire go for the medium blue stone
evoking the summer skies even on a rainy day? Or should she
rather prefer a lighter blue, because it sparkles brilliantly
also in the evening? Bright daylight makes most Sapphires
shine more vividly than the somewhat muted artificial light.
Therefore the most highly cherished colour for blue sapphires
is not the darkest blue as is often claimed, but a deep and
satiated blue, which even in dim artificial light remains to
appear blue.
For experts and connoisseurs the Cashmere-colour with its
velvety sheen is considered the most beautiful and valuable
shade. The wonderful Cashmere gemstones, which were found in
1880 after an avalanche had come down in a height of 5000 m,
and which were intensively mined then for eight years, have
for all times set the standard for our ideas of the colour of
a top quality Sapphire. Typical for the Cashmere colour is a
pure and intensive blue, which is enhanced by a fine, silky
gloss. It is reported that this colour does not change in
artificial light. But Burma-colour is also considered
especially valuable. It ranges from rich royal blue to deep
cornflower blue.
The oldest Sapphire mines are situated in Ceylon, today called
Sri Lanka, where gemstones were mined in ancient times. The
expert recognises Ceylon sapphires from the luminosity and
brilliance of their light to medium blue colour. Most blue
Sapphires, however, come from Thailand or Australia.
Their value depends on size, colour and transparency. For very
fine qualities these criteria are supplemented by information
on the origin of the gemstone. The colour 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.
Another factor reflecting on the price for a sapphire is a
possible treatment, as in our age of gemstone cosmetics a
stone which has definitely not been treated becomes more and
more desirable. And if this rare beauty should be a real
Cashmere- or Burma-Sapphire with a certificate to document
this, than you will definitely have to pay a collector’s
price.
Only rarely some courageous pioneers will succeed in locating
a gemstone occurrence of such dimensions as happened in
Madagascar some years ago, when in the Southeast of the island
there was found a large gemstone occurrence stretching out
across several kilometres. Since then, there have not only
been enough blue Sapphires on the market, there also appeared
some magnificent yellow and pink Sapphires of special beauty
and transparency. In the meantime experts also succeeded in
finding the first evidence for two larger gemstone occurrences
in Tanzania, where good, although not very large Sapphire
crystals are found in blue, yellow and orange colours. And
recently Brazil has joined the ranks as third country where
blue to purple and pink Sapphires have been found. So,
Sapphire lovers may rest assured: The "heavenly” gemstones
with the fine colour spectrum will be available in the future
in sufficient amounts. Top-quality Sapphires, however, remain
a rarity in the gemstone mines all over the world.
16 Seamoor Road, Westbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset, England, BH4 9AR.
Tel: 01202 761764