Sapphire

The sapphire belongs to the corundum mineral group, the members of which are characterised by their excellent hardness (9 on the Mohs scale). Red corundum is known as ruby, while all other colors are referred to as sapphire. Blue is the most famous of the sapphire colors - the very name in Latin, "Sapphiru," means blue. The prized Kashmir and Burmese sapphires have a deep blue that is intense and velvety. Sri Lankan (Ceylon) sapphires are more common today and also highly desirable. Other producers of sapphire are Australia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Thailand, and Montana. Sapphire is found in many other colors besides blue, and these diverse colors are referred to as "fancy" color sapphires. There are pink, purple, yellow, orange, green and colorless sapphires, and even some that show a color change under different lighting conditions. A very rare sapphire known as “Padparadscha” is said to be named after the lotus flower, and shows a mix of pink and orange. Sapphire is also the birthstone for September.

2.06 ct Bi-color Sapphire

While at the 2010 Tucson gem shows, I found a really nice heated bi-color Madagascar sapphire at one of the premium rough dealer's display. The color was concentrated at the ends of the stone, with a colorless central portion. I knew that I needed to highlight this color zoning, so I selected a marquise cut and oriented it to have an equal amount of violet-blue color at each end. The result is a very sparkly and pretty stone, with a great classic shape and a nice ring size.

2.06 ct, 12.2 x 5.5 x 4.2mm, VVS clarity
$795