What are Sapphires?
Sapphires are One of the Four Precious Gemstones. The terms stones and gemstones are thrown around quite a bit, but for the most part, while almost all gemstones originate from some mineral (besides from rare exceptions like pearls), not every stone is a gemstone, which is used almost interchangeably with the term precious. This is because some are considered more precious than others and only a select few in the category of precious gemstones.
To be clear, the separation between precious and semi-precious is actually not used any longer. Still, many differentiate between the two groups.
A stone becomes a gem once it has been transformed from its rough mineral form into a cut and polished jewel. The most lavish gemstones on the planet, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, fall into what was called precious gemstones. All other gemstones are referred to as semi-precious. Some are far less valuable than precious gemstones while others can cost quite the pretty penny.
Sapphires are the gemstone variety of the corundum mineral. The red sapphire variety is called a ruby. Sapphires are mined, and they are also manufactured for decorative purposes. These stones measure 9 on the Mohs scale in terms of hardness, making them the third hardest gemstone after diamonds and moissanite respectively. Diamonds rank 10 whereas moissanite ranks 9.5. They are therefore also used for non-decorative uses such as for infrared optical components.
How Are Sapphires Formed?
Sapphires are formed under the earth’s surface over millions of years. They are the result of several processes, which include high temperatures and pressure. These are the ideal conditions for metamorphic processes in which sapphires are formed. When liquid magma found deep within the earth cools, it allows the minerals to crystalize. The finest and purest forms of corundum, otherwise known as sapphires, are these very minerals that have been recrystallized during this process that has taken millions of years.
A sapphire is a mineral but it is not diamond even though a diamond is a mineral as well. They are both different types of minerals. Sapphires are a variety of the mineral corundum, which is an aluminum oxide. Various elements found within the sapphires cause different hues. For example, iron causes blue, titanium causes yellow, and chromium causes purple.
Where do Sapphires Come From?
Sapphires are mined in locations around the globe but are mainly sourced from Cambodia, Colombia, India, and Kenya. Other areas include Afghanistan, Australia, Nepal, the United States, and Vietnam. The sapphires from the various regions differ from one another in terms of their chemical structure and appearance.
Sapphire Quality Assessment
Most people know that a diamond is assessed based on four main categories better known as the 4Cs, which stand for color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. These are used to assess colored gemstones albeit quite differently.
For starters, while color, cut, clarity, and carat are all looked at in an equal manner when discussing colorless diamonds they are not dealt with in this fashion when grading sapphires. The main reason for this is that the color of a sapphire takes absolute precedence over everything else. We aren’t looking at the absence of color like we do with colorless diamonds but at the presence of color. This puts it at front and center in such a way that we don’t just look to see which color it is, but what secondary colors are present, how intense the color can be seen, and how dark or light the stone is. In official terms, the color, tone, and saturation of a sapphire take priority over all other aspects including clarity, carat, and cut.
Furthermore, while high-quality sapphires are preferred, the quality is not assessed in the same way it is for a diamond. Inclusions can be present within a sapphire and it can still be considered extremely valuable. It all depends on where the flaw is found, how visible it is, and whether or not it can be seen minimally compared to the overall color and appearance of the stone.
Although a sapphire’s color is its most important feature, the cut is a close second. This is because the way in which a sapphire is cut affects its color directly. Therefore, the center of a sapphire must be cut in a way that it reflects light and color. When the center of the stone is dead and does not reflect light or color, it is known as a window. Sapphires with large windows will be sold for lower prices whereas stones without windows that have full color and light reflection will sell for a higher value.
Lastly, a sapphire can be found in larger sizes, but the bigger the stone, the smaller the chances of it being a quality gem. Thus, the larger and higher quality stone you come across the rarer, and the more expensive it will be.
Are sapphires rare?
Stones known on the market as sapphires are not incredibly rare, however, untreated sapphires of high quality are extremely hard to come by. This is because most sapphires that are mined are of such poor quality that they never enter the gem trade to begin with. Among those stones that do make it into the trade, most are treated in some way or another. Sapphire sources are limited because of several reasons. If the mine is not profitable enough, it won’t be mined altogether. Additionally, if the source is located in a controversial area, it will be avoided and thus becomes null.
Sapphire Meanings and History
Sapphires were discovered thousands of years ago. They date all the way back to the First Temple, 957 BCE, as the sapphire was one of the twelve precious stones used in the High Priest’s breastplate. It is unknown who was the first person to discover sapphires.
Today sapphires are mined in countries around the world. Some of these countries include Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Colombia, Nepal, Kenya, Australia, Vietnam, Tanzania, and the USA, as well as others. In addition to making beautiful additions to any piece of jewelry, sapphires are used to create high durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and can also be used for electronics.
