[ad_1]
Sapphire is a precious gemstone belonging to the corundum family. Corundum is a mineralogical name conferred upon crystallized Aluminium oxide (Al2O3). Pure Corundum which is very rare is perfectly colorless & as such colorless sapphire is equally rare. Small amounts of metallic impurities (especially iron and chrome) in the crystal structure of the corundum gives rise to many color variants in the gemstone.
A blue corundum gemstone is merely called Sapphire.
Gems of other colors are referred to with their color as a prefix. For example, yellow sapphire, pink sapphire and so forth. Two other colour varieties have been given distinct names, the red Ruby and the orangish-pink Padparadscha.
These gemstones are all the more appealing mainly because of their attractive colours, abounding history and the metaphysical qualities attributed to them. Legend has it that the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments were in fact made of sapphire. Ancient kings wore sapphires around their necks as defense against harm, to ward off evil and to acquire divine favors.
Ancients thought that the energy of wisdom is contained inside of this precious gemstone. They believed that the stone’s power enables the wearer to uncover correct solutions to difficult problems.
The sapphire has been a symbol of the heavens, protector of innocence and imparted with loyalty, sincerity and truth. The ancient Persians believed that the earth’s crust rested upon an enormous sapphire, whose luminosity reflected the sky’s coloration at sunset.
The word sapphire springs from the Latin word sapphirus which merely means blue. Ruby is derived from the Latin word ruber meaning red. The name corundum has been derived from the Sanskrit word kurivinda.
In the ancient times, it was thought that all gems grew and ripened with transforming seasons similar to the fruits on a tree. Starting off as white, the gems matured and became perfect as the sun shined. Deep red stones were considered to be fully ripened while the paler stones were deemed to have been plucked from the earth too early. The gorgeous red ripe stone (ruby) was called Kuruvinda in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. The phrase Corundum springs from this ancient sanskrit word and encompasses all gems formed of crystallized Aluminium oxide (Al2O3) together with the Ruby.
Though the most widely recognized coloration of sapphire happens to be blue (ranging from vivid medium dark violet to purplish blue), this gemstone comes in almost all other hues like yellow, orange, white, pink & purple.
Along with its colour, its area of origin has a great affect on the value of a sapphire. The most priceless and magnificent sapphires that are intense blue in color with a hint of violet come from the Kashmir region of India.
Sapphires that come close to Kashmir sapphires in color tones are those from Burma (Myanmar).
The pinkish orange sapphires from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) are known as Ceylon sapphires. They are also prevalently known as ‘Padparadscha’. Padparadscha sapphires are characterized by an orange hue with a fine pink undertone, comparable to that of a ‘lotus flower’ which its name represents.
Australia is another significant source of sapphires that are especially deep velvety blue and dark inky in appearance. Some more lately found sources of sapphires are Madagascar, US (Gem Mountain and Montana), Brazil, Tanzania and Cambodia.
The history of treating a gem to improve its color, clarity etc. is as old as the gem trade itself. One of the earliest references to gem treatments is found in Pliny’s History of the World. It is a custom in the gem trade for pretty much all gems to go through some form of treatment or the other. Clarity and color of a sapphire get enhanced significantly with heat treatment.
If you wish for a sapphire whose color is natural, insist on a report from a established gem testing laboratory like the AGTA Gemological Testing Center certifying that the stone exhibits no evidence of heat alteration. But you also have to be prepared to pay a premium for the pleasure.
Intense medium dark blue is the most sought after color for blue sapphires. The value of blue sapphires is determined on the basis of the purity of their primary hue. Purple, violet & green are the lesser hues found naturally in blue sapphires. Violet & purple hues are regarded as positives and contribute to the overall beauty of the sapphire. Conversely, green hue is considered a definite negative and depreciates the value of the sapphire. Blue sapphires with less than fifteen per cent violet or purple hues are regarded to be of fine quality but even a trace of green can make it inferior in quality.
Yellow and green sapphires are also frequently found.
Chromium content imparts a pink hue to sapphires and the pink colour deepens with the increasing content of chromium. The value of the sapphire increases with the deepening pink color so long as the color deepens towards the red of rubies.
Certain rare colour shifting sapphires, display different colors in different light. The blue in outdoor light changes to purple in an incandescent indoor light. The pink in daylight turns greenish under fluorescent light.
The value of sapphire is dependent on its colour more than anything else and even small variations can alter its value considerably. Preferably a sapphire should be vivid, pure and highly saturated medium or medium dark toned with no tinge of gray or brown. Sapphires that are too dark or too light in colour are not greatly valued.
All sapphires occur in nature with inclusions although in exceptional rare cases a sapphire can also be clean. Even valuable sapphires can carry inclusions and absolutely clean gems make them suspect.
Sapphires with inclusions of tiny, rutile needles exhibit an optical property called asterism. This is the star shaped effect seen in Star Sapphires and is usually only seen in cabochon cuts.
Parti sapphires are beautiful Australian beauties and the very best examples are unique to Australia. They show both yellow and blue colors and depending upon the facets also throw the green color. Due to the natural blending of colors, Parti sapphires can’t be synthetically manufactured and offer their owner an exclusive gemstone that is guaranteed to be natural.
A greatly valued Parti sapphire is the “Pharaoh’s Eye”. The Pharaoh’s Eye is a blue crystal with a yellow core. The gem is so cut that the culet (bottom) of the stone is centered in the yellow core and the crown (top) is in the blue. This is a truly spectacular stone.
Measuring 9.0 on the Mohs scale of hardness, sapphires are the second hardest natural mineral after diamonds. They match well with all styles of jewelry and because of their hardness are suitable for daily wear.
Sapphires look wonderful in engagement rings, right hand rings as also in pendants around the neck. Sapphires come in a riot of colours as well as in a vast range of prices from affordable to the exclusive. So sapphire jewelry can go with all types of outfits, all types of occasions and they can fit into any class.
Sapphire is the original “true blue” and the gem of loyalty. In ancient times, a gift of a sapphire was a pledge of trust, honesty, purity, and loyalty. This belief makes sapphire a preferred choice for engagement rings.
In order to retain the brilliance and fire of a sapphire, it is crucial that you clean them on a regular basis. The emphasis is on Regular Cleaning. You can do the cleaning with mild detergent or soap and lukewarm water. Scrubbing can be done gently with a soft toothbrush.
It is also worth revealing here that today artificial sapphires are manufactured in the lab. These manmade sapphires are similar to the naturally occurring ones in all ways except that they do not have the flaws and inclusions seen in the latter. They are also available in much lower price range.
[ad_2]
Source by Zulekha Alam