Sapphires are known and revered the world over for their beauty and mystery. In many ancient cultures this stone has been admired for not only its elegance but also the magic and luck attached to it.

In western civilisation the Sapphire has long been the traditional stone of choice to set alongside diamonds for a man wanting to express his love and commitment to someone special.

Not only is it used most recognizably in tokens of love such as the ring presented to Princess Diana or in the jewelry adorning the unquestionably exquisite and perfectly turned out Mrs. Simpson from Edward, but now with the use of heat treatments the sapphire has taken on a new lease of life filled with the same lustre expected of a gem stone of this status. It is used and celebrated within many contemporary pieces designed to catch the eye of forward thinking, fashion conscious people, both young and old.

Sapphires come in a range of colors from summer sky blue to wintry sunset black, colourless and all the colors in between. To enjoy these colours a sophisticated procedure has taken decades to perfect and days to engineer by enhancement specialists, this allows us to enjoy the endless limits to the color tone or saturation in a sapphire.

Sapphires have different colors which are due to the trace mineral content within the crystal. A blue sapphire will reflect a blue light because the crystal has a titanium element within the stone. Chromium is the mineral that allows us to enjoy the Pink sapphire and in larger quantities gives us the Ruby. If a combination of elements is within the stone, you might have a lime green or a purplish blue sapphire. A chemically pure sapphire crystal would be colorless.

Whatever ingredients nature adds to it is what special unique color it will show.

Violet, rustic orange and all colors in between - these are the sapphires that can only be classified as rare and unique, or often described as ‘fancy Sapphires’. Unique fancy Sapphires normally go to owners that see personalities within them, personalities that they themselves exhibit, or simply great understanding and true appreciation of the rarity of the colours.

When admiring a Sapphire, turning it back and forth will allow the light to travel through the gem and display even more colours, this beautiful array of colours is called pleochroism.

Sapphire is an exceptionally hard crystal structure measuring 9 on the mohs sale, which makes it a great durable long lasting gem stone. Generally more common under 1ct, it can be possible to have specimens as large as 20+cts. Larger sizes are very rare and understandably command extremely high prices.

As Sapphires are available in so many colours here are a few of their distinguishing properties:

• Blue
  Blue are the most popular and sought after type of Sapphire and have been the prized possessions of emperors, kings, queens and collectors for thousands of years. Of all the coloured gem stones it is the most demanded. Royalty have been known to give Sapphires over Diamonds as engagement rings because they are known to be far rarer than the latter. The most notable producer of fine Blue Sapphires is Sri Lanka, although origin can be difficult to determine, as specimens of similar colour and hue have been identified in other regions.
   
• Yellow
  Yellow Sapphires come in a wide range of tones and saturations. Canary yellow to an ultra golden color tone show the wide range of this type. The most in-demand color tone is a medium vibrant canary yellow that will show good color and light reflection in all lighting conditions.
  
  A Yellow Sapphire faceted to look like a yellow Diamond is strikingly similar in light and colour reflection. Viewed from a near distance the two stones are almost indistinguishable.
  
  Due to it’s increasing popularity the price of Sapphires has increased considerably, in the 1970’s $50 per carat and today can demand a price of $1000 per carat.
   
• Padparadscha
  Padparadscha meaning lotus flower, is THE rarest of Sapphires. These extremely rare stones are unknown to most, but when discovered usually become an absolute favorite. They are strikingly beautiful and almost no other colored stone compares to this unique mix of pink and orange.
  
  Sunsets, lotus flowers and tropical fruits - the color range of a (pronounced) Pad-para-dscha falls within a mix of 2 colors: pink and orange.
  
  Padparadschas are mostly unknown among most consumers because there are literally so few in circulation. Padparadscha Sapphires are truly rare and unusual gemstones.
   
• Pink
  Pink Sapphires have recently become widely available by new deposits found in Madagascar in the late 1990’s. Until this time, fine Pink Sapphire was exceptionally rare and only found in a few locations in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Burma.
  
  Madagascan Pink Sapphires come in a full range of color tones from a very pale baby pink to a vivid almost magenta intense pink. Because of its make up, a pink Madagascan sapphire is heated at a much lower temperature than any other sapphire, roughly 4000c where the normal temp is 18000c, so quite a difference, this means internally the Pink Sapphire is virtually not altered.

Hardness: 9, Refractive Index: 1.76-1.77