Thursday

Blue and Fancy Sapphires - Birthstone of September

Created Sapphire Ring

Sapphire is the birthstone of September.  Sapphire is one of two gemstone varieties of corundum.  The other gem is ruby.  The popular hue of sapphire is blue, but a sapphire can be any other color of corundum except red.  Blue sapphires are evaluated based on the purity of their primary hue.  The purple, violet and green are secondary hues found in blue sapphires.  The purple and violet hues add to the overall beauty of the color of the stone.  Blue sapphires with less than 15% violet or purple generally are considered to be the finest quality sapphires.    The color of a fine blue sapphire can be described as bright medium, dark violet to a purplish blue.

Asher Multi-Sapphire Circle Drop Pendant

Fancy color sapphires are any other colors of sapphire except for red, which would then be a ruby.  Some examples of fancy sapphires would be pink, green, and yellow.  Designer Vanna K has a great selection of fancy color sapphire jewelry.  The Asher Jewelry Collection also has some very pretty fancy color sapphire pieces as well as multi-colored sapphire jewelry.

The cost of sapphires is similar to diamonds in that it is based on the color, clarity, size and cut.  Sapphire deposits are mainly found in Eastern Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Madagacar, and Eastern Africa.  There are some locations in the United States as well where sapphires are found, such as locations like Gem Mountain and in the Missouri River near Helena, Montana.