The birthstone for September and the official fifth wedding anniversary gift, sapphires are perfect for everyday wear.
Registering at 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, sapphire is a remarkably tough gemstone. Only diamonds are harder.
The stones are mined in the USA (mostly in Montana), Australia, India, Cambodia, Madagascar, and Tanzania. For sapphire gemstones Kenya also holds great potential, considering its access to the Mozambique Orogenic Belt.
They are often thought of as exclusively blue, but these stones are available in a wide array of unusual colour choices, from dark indigo blue to a clean, vibrant ocean spray blue, to black, white, orange, green, brown, yellow, and pink.
High quality sapphires over 2cts are scarce. Just a handful of fine stones are produced worldwide every day, so it’s hardly surprising that prices continue to rise.
"Natural untreated sapphires are seen as a good investment. Prices vary according to whether they are treated or untreated, colouring ,tone, saturation, the clarity of the stone, and size."
The foremost producers of fine blue sapphires are Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and Madagascar. Myanmar also produces outstanding stones, typically in smaller quantities but larger sizes.
The late 1800s saw a big find of exceptionally high quality sapphire stones in the mountainous Kashmir region. This deposit was depleted by the 1920s, with today’s prices reaching 10 times those of a comparable blue sapphire from another country.
Buying a coloured gemstone ring can sound stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Why not let our gemologist guide you through the whole process step by step and help to make choosing that perfect diamond an event to be remembered.