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September Birthstone: Sapphire
02/09/2021
Sapphires are the birthstone of September and the gem of the 45th and 65th wedding anniversaries. Usually known for their stunning blue colour, Sapphires measure 9 on Mohs hardness scale, making it a great stone choice for everyday wear.
ROUGH SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL
Rough Sapphire Crystal shapes influences the finished stones shape and size. Due to its most common “barrel or spindle” shaped hexagonal pyramid or bipyramid, the resulting stones often have deep pavilions (the lower portion of a cut stone) however this is not always a bad thing. A coloured stone with around 70% depth to overall face up measurement can often result a beautiful well-balanced colour throughout the entire stone and will often result in a stone without a “window”.
A window is the appearance of a colourless section/a paler coloured section of a stone directly under the “table” the largest facet of a stone as the viewer looks down onto it. This window when prominent enough can lighten the tone of a very dark coloured stone, or it can if prominent in a transparent stone distract the eye, as you will be able to see anything directly under it, and you could even read text through it.
However deeper than 75-80% can just add weight to a coloured stone without improving its beauty. Exceptionally deep stones can become difficult to set, with height of a setting and wearability for the piece of jewellery in mind.
Sapphires are a form of corundum, as are rubies. The corundum family also includes so-called “fancy-sapphires”. These come in a variety of colours from violet to green, yellow, and even pink. Going one step further sapphires can even be brown, grey, or black! The way in which sapphires have different colours is through the trace mineral content within a sapphire. A blue sapphire will reflect blue light because the crystal has titanium element within the stone. If a sapphire has other trace minerals such as chromium then the stone will be pink in colour. If a combination of elements is within the stone, you might have a lime green or a purplish-blue sapphire. A chemically pure sapphire crystal would be colourless.
SOURCE NAMES
Source names to describe colour often used in the trade:
Kashmir, describes a violetish blue to pure blue hue, with moderately strong to vivid saturation & medium to dark tone. Minute inclusions can give a velvety appearance & describe softness.
Burmese, describe a slightly, violetish blue to blue hue, moderately strong to vivid saturation, & medium to dark tone. Their blue can be more intense than Kashmiri but lacks velvety appearance.
With an actual country of origin such as “Burmese” or “Kashmiri” prices can be affected, however Madagascar is producing exceedingly beautiful stones with very similar appearance & with similar inclusions, which can make this less relevant today. Source names to describe a stones colour should not be used unless the actual country of origin is known and has an accompanying independent certificate that states that it has that as a country of origin. So, if it really matters to you about country of origin, you will most likely need to ask for certificated stones which state this but expect they will likely come at some sort of premium.
ALL THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW (AND MORE)
The colour combinations for Sapphires are vast:
Pink & Purple, generally accepted that Pink ranges from red to purple in light tones with weak to vivid saturation. This is where the old question of is it red enough to be classed as a Ruby? Or is it a fancy colour Sapphire? Purple Sapphires are similar in hue but darker in tone. Pink can range from the palest of baby pink through to “hot fuchsia pink”
Violet, another variant of the purple sapphire but lighter in tone.
Orange, range from reddish orange through to yellowish orange.
Padparadscha, is a very unique combination of pink and orange colouration together in one stone, caused by a combination of traces of Iron and Chromium. A true Padparadscha should show an even combination of these two colours with neither overpowering the other nor have noticeable brown.
Yellows & Oranges, hues include bright lemon, soft peach and vivid tangerine.
Green, from yellowish-green to blueish-green, this sapphires colour can be comparable to some green Tourmalines; however, often the colour is olive in hue.
All these amazing colours can be found, naturally or enhanced. The most difficult part is to create matching sets of stones with all the same, hue, tone, clarity, and cuts.
PHENOMENAL STONES
Over and above the colours, real rarities such as colour change sapphires occur, where a sapphire can change colour hue simply due to the interaction of either natural or incandescent light exciting the element Vanadium within the crystal structure.
Often changing from violetish blue in daylight to reddish purple in incandescent light. These colour changes can be other colours and this colour change phenomenon occurs in other gemstones. The best known of which is the Alexandrite, originally first discovered in Russia.
Then we have Star Sapphires, which can occur in virtually all the colour hues of Corundum including Ruby (star Rubies command the highest prices of all star Corundum). “Stars” are caused by the presence of tiny needle like inclusions “silks” that are orientated in several specific directions usually made up of 2, 3 or 6 intersecting bands, resulting in 4, 6 or 12 rays, the most common being 6 rays.
These two above described as “phenomenal stones” occurrences are rare, but rarer still is to find both of these phenomenon in one stone which really can only be described as exceptional, when the star is perfectly centred and the stone has a strong colour change occurrence.
So whether you want to buy your loved one their own special birthstone as a christening present, your celebrating that exceptional anniversary, you want an unusual stone with great durability for your birthday, you just want a phenomenal stone that’s rare, or it’s a “just because“ purchase there are many sapphires in many colours to meet almost any desire.
CELEBRITY STYLE
When it comes to Sapphires you instantly think of Her Majesty The Queen and Elizabeth Taylor.
The Queen has such an incredible collection of Sapphire jewellery, each with her own stories to tell. While Elizabeth Taylor can be seen wearing the Bulgari Sapphire which has been seen on the red carpet in recent years.
The Queen began her sapphire collection early. In April 1944, her father gave her a lovely sapphire and diamond bracelet for her eighteenth birthday. Made by Cartier, the piece features two sapphire and diamond “segments” linked together with diamond clasps. The Queen wore it fairly often in her younger years. In February 2017, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British sovereign to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee — sixty-five years on the throne. Appropriately, one of the gifts she received to mark the milestone was set with sapphires.
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
Elizabeth received the Bulgari Sapphire sautoir as a 40th birthday present from her then-husband Richard Burton in 1972, while in Budapest, Hungary. The extraordinary Bulgari piece centers on a pavé-set diamond octagonal pendant set with a sugarloaf cabochon sapphire weighing approximately 52.72 carats. It has elegant calibré-cut sapphires and four bullet-shaped diamonds framing the pendant.
ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Take a look at some of these celebrities who love Sapphire jewellery. You can steal thier style with our stunnng jewellery from Lumbers.
Kate Middleton
The Duchess of Cambridge’s striking blue sapphire engagement ring was originally Princess Diana’s engagement ring before she passed in 1997. The ring consists of a 12 Carat Oval cut blue Sapphire centre stone surrounded by 14 diamonds. Interestingly, many publications in Britain referred to it as a ‘commoner’s ring’ and couldn’t understand why have a bespoke ring made, but now, it’s one of the most famous and iconic engagement rings ever.
Katie Holmes
Take a look at Katie Holmes wearing classically beautiful blue sapphire and diamonds studs. This particular pair she received from Tom Cruise to wear on their wedding day. These are a timeless design and can be worn on any occasion.
MARY-KATE OLSEN
This vintage Cartier engagement ring incorporates diamonds, sapphires and flower petals for a truly unique ring! Mary-Kate Olsen’s engagement ring from Olivier Sarkozy is a vintage Cartier engagement ring. If you like the idea of adding a touch of Sapphire to your jewellery but want the diamonds to do the talking this is a great option!
JENNY MCCARTHY
This custom engagement ring dazzles all the way from LA! Jenny McCarthy’s custom yellow sapphire engagement ring from Donnie Wahlberg is jaw dropping. This diamond encrusted ring features a 10 carat yellow sapphire centre stone and set in 18 carta white gold. Lumbers version of this stunning ring is in fact crafted from platinum and features a natural yellow sapphire!
If you are looking for the perfect piece of Sapphire jewellery, but can't see it on our website - feel free to pop into our showroom or give us a call.
We have an on-site jewellery designer who can take your treasured trinkets into the 21st century to be worn once more, or he can design you something from scratch which oozes your personality and style.
We have a much larger range of jewellery in-store so and an award-winning onsite workshop which will be able to make your dreams a reality.
Happy Shopping and hopefully see you soon!
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