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Sapphires

The most popular precious gemstone that is available in almost all colors of the rainbow, with blue being the most popular.

Sapphires Gemstones

Sapphires are categorized as precious gemstones along with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. Sapphire, which is part of the Corundum family, is a very durable stone making it suitable for everyday wear; they have a hardness of nine on the Mohs scale whereas diamonds are a rated as 10. In terms of sapphire quality, there is a very large variety and there is no standardized grading system as we do have for diamonds. Because of this we do our best to guide each client through the process of selecting a sapphire that best suits their visual needs and budget. Quality will vary from stone to stone and the main points to look out for are color saturation and hue, cutting style and size.

Carat Weight:

Sapphires are usually cut deeper than diamonds to help bring out its color; therefore a 1 carat diamond is going to look bigger than 1 carat sapphire. It is best to go by not only carat weight but millimeter measurements to give you the best idea of how it will appear once set in a ring.

Color :

Sapphires comes in a rainbow of colors. Blue sapphire is the most popular and its level saturation and shade of color will be a determining factor in its price. The most prestigious and rare blue sapphires are according to GIA velvety blue to violet blue, in medium-to-medium dark tones. A sapphire that is extremely light, extremely dark, or grayish is going to be less expensive. Hue refers to the actual body color of the sapphire. It is usually comprised of two parts, the color that has the strongest presence, and any other colors that may be slightly noticeable, giving a certain undertone to the stone.  The main body color/most obvious color is listed second, and the undertone color is listed first.  For example, you can have a greenish blue sapphire or a blueish purple sapphire.

Clarity:

A completely flawless sapphire would be extremely hard to find. Whereas diamond clarity is graded based on 10x magnification, sapphires will be looked at based on their visual appearance with the naked eye. In all cases, the color of the sapphire will override its clarity and would normally be the determining factor in its beauty and price.

Cut:

Like diamonds, sapphires are cut in the same shapes with the most popular being cushion, round, oval, step cut and mixed step cuts. In terms of grading the cut there is a lack of standardization considering each stone is cut to maximize its color and not necessarily its brilliance. In general, a well-cut sapphire will be symmetrical and reflect light at the proper angles to enhance the stone’s luster.

Pricing :

Because there is no standardized grading in place for sapphires, developing an industry wide price list is not an option. Relatively speaking, sapphires are always less expensive than diamonds, and usually less than emeralds and rubies. Pricing will depend on any of the quality factors mentioned above as well as the origin of where it was mined from.

Treatment:

Treated sapphires are very common. Untreated sapphires are rarer and therefore increasingly pricey. Sapphires are very commonly heat-treated to improve color, clarity, and overall appearance. Some sapphires are found closer to thermal venting in the earth, which produces exceptional color through natural heating. To learn more about sapphires, watch this informative video here.

To see videos of sapphire rings from our exclusive collection continue here

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