September Birthstone: Sapphire

Labor Day has come and gone this year and September is in full swing. If you’re anything like me, your calendar is getting more and more full by the day with events, school and sports activities for the kids and an ever-growing to do list as a dim view of the upcoming holidays starts to come into focus.

My oldest son’s due date was September 25th. As a first time pregnant mama, I was naive enough to fix that date in my mind as my son’s birthday. I really wish doctors would give pregnant women a week or a date range, rather than a specific date, because when that day came and went, I was a wreck. Somehow, I thought that was an expiration date on what was a pretty rough pregnancy and I sailed past it with nary a contraction in sight, growing larger by the day. Meanwhile, back home in Houston, three of my friends had the nerve to have their babies on that very date, my due date, all in the same hospital. To say that I was inconsolable an understatement. I begged that baby to come out and pleaded with him for the next five days as well, but he didn’t budge. I was finally induced eight days after that due date and after a long labor and an emergency c-section, I finally got to hold that ten pound baby boy in my arms. Ten years later, I can confirm that child has not been in a hurry to do anything his entire life.

As crazy as it sounds, one of the reasons I wanted that sweet babe to come out near his due date was that I was THRILLED with his birthstone for September. I guess that’s a jewelry designer for you! I was already designing birthstone rings in my head and I love, love, love me some classic sapphires. Alas, he didn’t come until October and so his birthstone is opal. Ten years ago, that felt like a horrible, horrible thing. Today, I’m happy to report that I love opals. They’ve made a huge comeback in the jewelry world and are no longer the 1970’s grandma-style opals we all remember. But, I digress…

If you were born in September or have a baby who was, yay for sapphires! (Alas, I never got a September baby, but what I did get was some maturity to realize that having four healthy babies is an immense blessing that makes their birthstones pale in comparison. Also, God gave me four boys to drive the point home further. They will likely never care about what their birthstone is!)

One of the reasons I love sapphires is that they come in an array of beautiful colors. I’m a gal who loves versatility, so having color options to mix together or change things up makes me giddy with delight when I’m designing. From various shades of blue – cornflower, velvet, teal or deep blue – to shades of brown, green, orange, yellow and pink and even white (clear), this stone offers a variety of choices for design.

Sapphires are considered a precious stone from the corundum mineral. They are one of the most highly sought stones, along with diamonds and their price can quickly rival that of diamonds for a high quality stone. Another fabulous thing about sapphires is their durability. Sapphires rank a 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, right after diamonds, which are a 10, making them an excellent choice for use in jewelry, especially in rings, where stones take a pretty hard beating with constant use. Fun fact: rubies are also corundum, only in the shade of red. Sapphires can be found in many parts of the world, including Montana, but the highest producers of high-quality sapphires are Kashmir, Burma, Madagascar and Sri Lanka.

Of course, the blue sapphire is a classic and looks gorgeous set with diamonds for an anniversary band or birthstone ring and I make quite a few custom rings with sapphires, as they are very popular. But don’t count sapphires out for less formal wear! I love using them in my essentials line as well and find that the range of colors means I could wear a sapphire piece every day!

Fun fact: Sapphires are also the gemstone of 45th anniversaries.

Let’s take a look… The stunning ring below was a recent custom design that I made for a special client’s 25th wedding anniversary. Sapphires work beautifully in ring designs because of their strength and their beauty. Rings that are worn daily really take a beating, so you want to choose a durable stone for your design. In the custom ring below, I searched high and low for this beautiful center stone. This gorgeous sapphire is over two carats and is a velvet blue color, which is rather rare, so it took me a while to find just the right hue to match what my customer had in mind. We accented the center cushion cut sapphire with two half moon diamonds of excellent quality, which frame it beautifully. I love using half moon cut diamonds because they are a bit unexpected.

Blue sapphires work great in more casual, everyday jewelry as well, like in our Catalina earrings. These earrings actually come in multiple colors of sapphires – from the traditional blue to green sapphires from Thailand to a rich orange sapphire to beautiful pink sapphires! Each one sparkles beautifully in its hue. Check out the full assortment of colors here!

Another fun way to wear sapphires is to mix them together. In the necklace below, pink, white and blue sapphires are strung together to create this fun look that is super sparkly and perfect for layering.

A cluster of pink sapphires in various shapes and sizes cascade down in our beautiful waterfall earrings that are hand-wrapped in our Houston studio.

Sapphires also come in an assortment of earthy tones that are absolutely gorgeous, like in our waterfall necklace below that features champagne, green and brown sapphires with brown spinel.

When in doubt, use ALL the colors, like in our rainbow sapphire bracelet below! This bracelet features a rainbow assortment of different colored sapphires surrounded by white diamonds and ALWAYS garners lots of compliments!

Do you love sapphires as much as we do? Tell us your favorite color or design in the comments below! Interested in a custom sapphire piece? Send us an email here!