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Sapphire
 Sapphire comes from
the Greek word for blue, sappheiros , and this gem provides the most
beautiful blues of the gem kingdom. The ancient Persians
believed the earth rests on a giant Sapphire. Its reflection,
they said, made the sky blue.
Sapphire is the original “true blue”: the gem of fidelity and of the
soul. In ancient times, a gift of a Sapphire was a pledge of trust,
honesty, purity, and loyalty. This tradition makes Sapphire a
popular choice for engagement rings.
But Sapphire doesn't have to be blue to be beautiful. Sapphire also
comes in beautiful pinks, yellows, oranges, and peach and violet
colours. These other colours are often referred to as fancy
Sapphire. In fact, Sapphire comes in every colour but red,
because a red Sapphire would be a ruby: both are the mineral
corundum.
 The most
sought after colour of fancy Sapphire is the rare and
beautiful Padparadscha Sapphire: a pink-orange corundum with a
distinctive salmon colour reminiscent of a tropical sunset.
Found mostly in Sri Lanka, these ultra-rare, ultra-expensive stones
are among the most coveted gems in the world.
Pink Sapphires are a current fashion favourite. Jewelry designers are
setting Sapphires in bubblegum and powder puff hues in platinum or
white gold in exquisite styles adorned with pave diamonds.
As designers have delighted in pink Sapphires, they have also begun
to discover related hues such as violet, purple, and a bright
reddish-orange some call "papaya."
With earth tones now featured in clothing, jewelry manufacturers
have begun to explore corundum's extensive range of yellow, golden,
and orange shades.
Sapphire is the official birthstone for the month of September.
It is also one of the birth stones for the Zodiac signs of Pisces,
Taurus, Virgo and Sagittarius. Sapphire is given as a gem for
the 5th, 23rd and 45th wedding anniversaries while a star Sapphire
is given on the 65th wedding anniversary.
Sapphire is the non-red variety of corundum (the red variety of
corundum is
Ruby). A 9.0 on the
Mohs scale of hardness,
Sapphire is the second hardest natural mineral after diamond.
A rare variety of Sapphire, known as colour changing Sapphire,
exhibits different colours in different light. A colour change
Sapphire is blue in natural light, and violet in artificial light.
A similar effect is also seen in
alexandrite.
Sapphire was first created synthetically in 1902 and is hard to
distinguish from natural Sapphires except by gemologists. Lab
grown Sapphires range in price and smaller stones are frequently
used in less expensive jewelry.
Legend and Healing Properties
Its powers include spiritual enlightenment and inner peace.
Sapphire is believed to offer healing properties for rheumatism,
colic, and mental illness. It is also considered an antidepressant
and an aid to psycho kinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance and astral
projection.
Star Sapphires
Fine, needle-like inclusions are what give Sapphires their velvety
quality.
When these inclusions are numerous enough to make the stone
translucent or opaque and are oriented properly, they allow light to
be reflected in such a way that a star floats across the top of the
stone with movement.
When a cutter recognizes this potential in a piece of rough
Sapphire, he will cut it in a dome shape. Stars are not
visible in faceted stones.
The Sinhalese believed the star Sapphire would protect them against
witchcraft. The three intersecting rays were thought to
represent faith, hope and destiny.
Museums the world over exhibit star Sapphires that are noteworthy
for size or quality. The 543-carat "Star of India" resides in
the Morgan-Tiffany Collection in the American Museum of Natural
History in New York City.
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