Sapphire is the gemstone for birthdays in September and the preferred gift of the 5th and 45th anniversaries. They are one of the gemstone varieties of the mineral corundum in blue, yellow ,pink, green, black, purple, white, orange and gray. The pinkish orange sapphire is called “Padparadscha”.
Sapphire comes from the Latin word “saphirus” and the Greek word “sapherios” meaning blue. They symbolize wisdom, virtue, good fortune and holiness for the Royals. The famous Princess Diana engagement ring had a 12 carat oval blue sapphire with diamonds surrounding it that has now been passed to Princess Kate.
In the Museum of Natural History in New York the largest sapphire is “Star of India” at 563 carats.
The color of a sapphire is determined by the amounts of iron and titanium in the stone. The most desirable is the cornflower blue. 95% of the world’s sapphires are heat treated or thermally enhanced in furnaces. This improves the color, clarity and removes color zoning. Sapphires are on the Mohs hardness scale as a 9 which makes them very durable for all types of jewelry even engagement rings. Lab created sapphires are chemically, physically and optically identical to those mined underground but their cost is much less.
The three most famous areas that sapphires are mined are Kashmir, Burma and Sir Lanka. We do have Yogo sapphires that are mined in the United States from the Yogo Gulch in Montana.
Stop by the store and see all of the fabulous sapphire jewelry! Don’t forget to follow us at Conti Jewelers on Facebook and Instagram to get some new ideas and of course see some amazing jewelry!
