Our wonderful planet has gifted us with many hypnotically beautiful gemstones, rich in color, texture, and shine. Sapphires are among the most sought-after specimens, which is quite understandable, given the lush spectrum of colors in which they appear.
What are sapphires?
Sapphires are one of the four main gemstones, alongside diamonds, emeralds, and rubies (almost all gemstones come from some mineral, with rare exceptions like pearls). A stone in its raw form becomes a gemstone when its mineral structure is transformed into a cut and polished jewel.
Sapphires are a variety of a mineral belonging to the corundum family, which chemically is an aluminum oxide; sometimes with admixtures of iron, chromium, and titanium. It is worth mentioning that the red variety of sapphire is called ruby. Different elements present in sapphires cause the formation of different shades, e.g., iron “produces” a blue color, titanium – yellow, and chromium purple.
Hardness of sapphires
The hardness of sapphires is 9 on the Mohs scale, which makes them the third hardest gemstone on earth, after diamonds and moissanites – diamonds have a hardness of 10, and moissanite 9.5. The hardness attribute of sapphires makes them used not only for decorative purposes (e.g., for making jewelry), but also in the industrial sector, e.g., for the production of optical elements sensitive to infrared.
How are sapphires formed?
Sapphires are formed beneath the Earth’s surface over millions of years. They are the result of many metamorphic processes occurring in the Earth’s mantle – primarily high temperature and pressure. When the molten magma, located deep within the Earth, cools under very high pressure, it allows for the crystallization of minerals. The most precious and pure forms of corundum, known as sapphires, are precisely those minerals that have undergone recrystallization during a process lasting millions of years.
Where can we find sapphires?
Sapphires are mined in various places around the world, but they mainly come from Cambodia, Colombia, India, and Kenya. Other mining areas include Afghanistan, Australia, Nepal, the United States, and Vietnam. Sapphires from different regions differ from each other in terms of chemical composition and appearance.
Assessment of Sapphire Quality
Most people know that diamonds are evaluated based on four main categories, better known as the 4C method, where “4C” stands for color, clarity, cut, and carat weight.
This method is used to evaluate various, colored gemstones, although in a completely different way.
While color, cut, clarity, and carat are treated in the same way when evaluating colorless diamonds, they are not treated in the same way when evaluating sapphires. The main reason for this is that the color of the sapphire takes absolute precedence in the grading scale over everything else. We do not look at the absence of color, as with diamonds, which only increases their value, but rather at its presence – the beauty of a sapphire is judged based on the richness and intensity of its color.
Colors of sapphires
Sapphires occur in nature in many different colors: purple, dark gray, orange, yellow, pink, green, and black (which are relatively inexpensive). These multicolored sapphires are called ‘fancy sapphires’ and are often cheaper than the famous blue ones, yet equally beautiful and make an excellent alternative for them. There is also a very rarely founda coral type of sapphires, which was given the namePadparadscha,What does ‘lotus color’ mean. This stone is both orange and pink and can be very expensive. It is the only colored sapphire, besides ruby, that has been given its own name.
Custom Jewelry
Maybe you want to enrich your jewelry with a unique ring of your own design? Do you dream of delicate gold earrings with a diamond, sapphire, or another precious stone? In the workshop 79 Diamonds we are not afraid of challenges, because we love making our clients’ dreams come true, and each creation brings us many surprises and a lot of satisfaction. Get in touch with our designer and share your idea with us! ☺