Sapphire rings have long symbolized faithfulness and
sincerity, making a sapphire and diamond ring the perfect gift for romantic
occasions. As September's
birthstone, sapphire jewelry makes for a perfect, ever-lasting gift. With the increase in popularity of white metals,
so too, have sapphires become more popular. Beautiful cornflower-blue
gemstones create a wonderful contrast
that attracts attention to platinum sapphire rings.
Blue is the most well known color of the sapphire gemstone by
far, though it is not the only color available. The elements iron and titanium
gives the sapphire its blue color, but other mineral elements result in
different colors varying from black to orange to clear, green and pink.
Yellow sapphire rings and pink sapphire rings are becoming increasingly popular, though the
blue
gemstone color pairs well in a traditional sapphire and diamond ring.
The rarest sapphire is the exotic Star Sapphire. This mysterious variety is believed to be caused by needle-like
inclusions of rutile that result in a silky sheen causing an asterism, or
star, to appear. Star sapphires have often been used in men's sapphire jewelry
and have even been considered spellbinding.
The finest sapphires were once considered to come from Burma
and Kashmir. Today, those sources yield a very limited quantity of sapphire.
Much of the sapphire rings sold in today's market comes from gemstones found in
Sri Lanka, Thailand and Cambodia. Large sapphires are considered quite rare
and are sometimes named. Star of India is perhaps the largest cut Star
Sapphire weighing 536 carats. In the United States, heads of three prominent
presidents have been carved out of sapphires, each weighing approximately 2000
carats.
Moh's scale of hardness classifies corundum, and subsequently
sapphire, as having a hardness of 9. While this is the second hardest mineral
known to humankind, it should be noted that it is only 1/140th as hard as
diamond, the hardest natural substance. Conversely, it is seven times as hard
as Topaz, number 8 on the list. Sapphire rings - particularly sapphire and
diamond rings - are an excellent choice for jewelry as they are very durable and may be steam and ultrasonic cleaned. As with all
gemstones, care should be taken against direct blows since they may crack the
stones in your sapphire jewelry.
