Sapphire
Sapphire is the finest blue gemstone but in nature it presents in many other beautiful colours, from pink to yellow. It is a classic that should not be missed…..but only if it is of good quality.
"The colour saturation is crucial. The unheated stones are very rare! Less clarity more safety … how many synthetic ones!"
Sapphire
The blue variety of the corundum species is called sapphire. Its name probably derives from the Latin but some say it could take its meaning from the Hebrew word Sappir which means “the most beautiful thing”.
It was clear that Ruby and Sapphire were two varieties of corundum not sooner than in 1800 and from then, the red variety is called ruby while only the blue is called Sapphire. All the other colours in which this gemstone comes should by definition be called corundum but in common jargon nowadays all colours, apart from red, are defined as the colour followed by Sapphire .Therefore we call them violet sapphires, yellow sapphires, green sapphires and so on.
Sapphire colours are due to a range from iron-titanium for the blue to vanadium for the violet and different combinations with chrome for other colours
Only the best of blue
Quando si parla di zaffiro e basta si parla di blu primario. Un’altra tonalità secondaria può essere il viola il quale può dare un effetto setoso alla gemma ma assolutamente da evitare anche un accenno di verde il quale sarebbe estremamente peggiorativo nella valutazione della gemma. In conclusione possiamo dire che le pietre più quotate tendono alla massima uniformità di blu.
Other colours of Sapphire (Fancy Sapphires)
When talking about Sapphires, one speaks of primary blue. Another secondary shade could be violet which can give a silky effect to the gemstone but even a hint of green is definitely to be avoided because it will be extremely detrimental in the evaluation of the gemstone.
In conclusion we can say that the most valuable gemstones tend to be those with the maximum uniformity of blue.
Corundum can be found in almost every possible colour; it depends on the chromofore or coloured element that characterises the hue. As we said, all are generically called Sapphires apart from the red ruby but their rarity and value can be variable.
Sapphire Padparadscha, whose orangey-pink colour has been associated with lotus flowers, is a very rare variety that is mined in Sri Lanka. Other than knowing their origin, a highly accurate classification of the colour is required to grade them as Padparadscha. They need to have both a rose and orange hue and if the colour is too dark it can lose its classification as Padparadscha. It is advisable to have the gemstone certified in this case too.
Birthstone of September
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