S
SAPPHIRE
Name: Sapphire comes from the Greek word “sappheiros,” meaning “blue”. The term sapphire denotes the blue colors of corundum. The name “fancy sapphire” is also applied to any corundum that is not blue or a shade of red which would not qualify as a ruby.
Family Group: Sapphire is the blue variety of corundum.
Color: It gets its color from iron and titanium and has a color range from pure blue, cornflower blue, greenish-blue, and violet-blue. Today, the most sought-after shade of sapphire is a strong vivid velvety blue to violet-blue in medium to medium-dark tones.
Treatments: heat, diffusion, irradiation, beryllium, and fracture filling. Fracture filling is done with glass, resin, wax, or oil. Assume that the sapphire has been heat-treated unless otherwise noted. Sapphire can have rutile as an inclusion.
Moh’s Hardness: 9.
Lab-Grown/Synthetic: Sapphire was first synthesized in 1902 and used for industrial purposes including ballpoint pen tips and as bearings for watches, meters, and aircraft instruments.
Locations Found: Madagascar, Tanzania, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Australia, Pakistan, India, and the United States of America (Montana).
Birthstone: September (1912, National Association of Jeweler’s).
Wedding Anniversaries: 5th and 45th.
Zodiac Signs: Libra, Taurus, and Gemini.
Historical Associations: heaven; royalty; nobility; divination; wealth; sincerity; faithfulness; harmony; peace; health; luck; good fortune; strength; trust; truth; influence spirits; protects against poison, fraud, envy, infidelity, ill omens, the evil eye, and harm.
Historically Used to Treat: antidote to poison; the eyes.
Care: Ultrasonics and steamers are safe if the sapphires are not oiled, cavity filled, or heavily flawed. Avoid exposure to heat. The safest choice is warm water, soap, and a soft brush.