We use a variety of colours of Sapphire, including pink, yellow, green and purple along with the most popular and best known colour – blue. The most highly valued blue stones have a rich velvety colour coupled with a bright lively appearance and few inclusions.
Traditionally the best stones were believed to come from Kashmir and these still command the highest prices today along with those from Burma. Other sources include Sri Lanka, Thailand and Australia.
A particularly rare type of Sapphire is a beautiful blush pinkish-orange colour referred to as Padparadscha which means ‘Lotus blossom’ in Sinhalese. Second in hardness only to Diamond, Sapphires (like Rubies) are a good choice for jewellery that will be worn every day such as engagement rings. Also like rubies, they are available in a huge range of prices so there are stones to suit every pocket.
They were associated with the virtues of truth, sincerity and faithfulness and were credited with the ability to protect wearers from fraud, treachery, poison and plague – how can any of us manage without one?!
Description: Sapphires belong to the Corundum family and occur in all colours of the rainbow except for red, because the red variety is Ruby. They can be found in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand amongst other places.
Hardness: 9 on Mohs Scale
Birthstone: September