About Sapphires
Jewelry is like the perfect spice - it always complements what’s already there
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived from the Latin word sapphirus, itself from the Greek word sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli.[2] It is typically blue, but natural “fancy” sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; “parti sapphires” show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires.[3] Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on the locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third-hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years.[4]
United States – The state of Montana boasts the Yogo Clutch area which is famous for sapphire production.
Nigeria – Darker toned sapphires are often found in Nigeria due to the presence of magmatic rocks.
Kenya – Kenya is not limited to one color of sapphire, several hues are found here including rarer star sapphires.
Tanzania – a large variety of colored sapphires are found in the Umba River Valley in Tanzania.
Madagascar – Madagascar has been leading production of sapphires since the start of the twenty-first century.
Kashmir – Most of the sapphire mining in Kashmir happened over a century ago, but the gemstones found were so appealing they are still sought after.
Sri Lanka – A great deal of sapphire mining is still done by hand in Sri Lanka.
China – Many colors of sapphires are found in China including very dark blue.
Myanmar – Myanmar is famous for its deep red rubies but also mined in Mogok are royal blue sapphires.
Thailand – A great many sapphires and rubies are cut in Thailand.
Cambodia – Sapphires are mined in both pits and rivers near the Pailin area of Cambodia.
Vietnam – Though production has been irregular, Vietnam is well known for their beautiful sapphires and rubies.
Australia – Very dark blue and yellow are the most popular sapphire hues found in Australia.
