Did you know that rubies and sapphires are the same thing in a different color? Both are the mineral corundum. If the stone is red, it’s called a ruby, but in any other color – it’s a sapphire! And that’s one of the things I love most about the stone – it comes in a nearly endless array of colors and shades to work with and each is just beautiful.
Corundum is composed of only aluminum and oxygen and cannot have silicon present in its growth environment. Since silicon is such a common element, corundum is rather uncommon. Corundum is naturally colorless which results in a white sapphire stone. These were very often used in antique jewelry in place of diamonds. Trace elements in the corundum give sapphires their color and they can be pale or intense hues of pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, grey, brown and black. Some rare sapphires even change colors in different lighting! Still other sapphires and rubies have a unique star effect to them. When these stones are cut into cabochons, they show a star pattern with rays that appear on the curved surface of the cabochon stone, from the light reflecting just so off of the inclusions.
Another gorgeous color of sapphire is called padparadscha, which is the color of the lotus flower from where it gets its name in Sinhalese. It has a stunning orangish-pink color, almost a salmon color, and is considered one of the rarest gemstones in the world. These stones can look like a sunset and are just gorgeous!
Sapphires are famous throughout culture – from the famous royal engagement ring of Princess Diana, now worn by Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, that features a gorgeous 12 carat blue sapphire as the center stone – to the stunning necklaces of Elizabeth Taylor. The velvet blue color of sapphires from Kashmir are considered to set the standard in blue color of the stone and are among the most coveted.
Sapphires are a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, making them an excellent choice for jewelry that will be worn every day.
Sapphires are mined in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Tanzania, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, Australia and more. Some are even mined right here in the USA in Montana! Wherever they are from, these sapphires are considered to be one of the most desirable gemstones.
Personally, I LOVE sapphires and enjoy designing pieces with them, so we have lots of gorgeous sapphire designs, ranging from lower prices to more expensive, so there is something for everyone. Below is a selection of a few sapphire pieces from our website.
We even have a rainbow sapphire collection that features various hues of sapphires together in one piece and it has been one of our most popular! I LOVE my rainbow sapphire bracelet, as seen below. It is both sophisticated and fun and goes with absolutely everything.
We have LOTS of gorgeous sapphire pieces for you to shop and we also LOVE making custom pieces and sourcing antique options for you, so please reach out for more information on those services as well. Scroll down for some fun ways that we style our sapphire jewelry and check out our entire sapphire collection on the website here.
Leave a Reply