Sapphire is one of the precious stones that are part of the “big three”, which has been highly valued by representatives of the nobility and upper classes since ancient times. It was worn by great rulers and generals, wives and daughters of Maharaj, King Solomon and Cleopatra herself.
What is important to know before buying a sapphire?
Sapphire belongs to the precious varieties of corundum, to the corundum group. From the point of view of chemistry, sapphires are a crystallized form of aluminum oxide. Therefore, before getting to its owner, for thousands of years, the mixture of minerals that form a sapphire matures, then to please you with its perfect beauty.
The main criteria that should be taken into account before buying a sapphire are purity, color, carateness, inclusions, degree of refinement and deposit.
1. Color
In the classical view, sapphire is a stone of deep dark blue color, but pink, purple, yellow, green, white and other colors are also found in nature.
Among the shades of sapphire, the most rare and valuable are royal blue and cornflower blue.
Also, speaking of sapphires, it is impossible to ignore the legendary sapphire "padparaja", which combines a delightful combination of orange and pink shades (mined, as a rule, in Sri Lanka).
2. Cleanliness
Like other precious stones extracted from the earth's rock, sapphires almost always have small defects and inclusions, which only proves the authenticity of their natural origin. If the stone in your hands looks flawless and translucent, most likely it is synthetic.
But inclusions in the stone do not always indicate a defect. There is an exception in the form of a star sapphire with an asterism effect - an optical property in which a characteristic star appears on the mineral. Most often, this unique natural phenomenon with 6 and sometimes 12 rays can be best viewed in the cabochon cut.
3. Ennobling
Like many precious stones, most sapphires undergo refinement in the form of heat treatment and diffusion, which primarily affect the color of the stone, favorably enhancing it. By heating the stone, you can change the tone, making it deeper or, conversely, lighter.
Heating sapphires is an acceptable method of ennobling, but removes any investment potential from the stone.
4. The deposit
The most valuable sapphire deposits today are Sri Lanka, Burma, and Madagascar. The stones from these places are characterized by a rich blue color and are an order of magnitude higher due to the rapid depletion of the mines. Along with them, specimens from Nigeria and Tanzania, as well as other well–known deposits - Australia, Cambodia, Thailand, and the USA are highly valued.
Legendary Kashmiri sapphires from Kashmir province on the border of India and Pakistan are considered to be the reference in terms of saturation and "velvety" color. These samples are very rare for the jewelry market and rather belong to auction lots. Now they can be found only at large auctions, but even this does not give a full guarantee of the authenticity of the origin due to their exceptional rarity and the full development of the mining site.
For this reason, the conditional term "kashmir-type" appeared, meaning a high standard of sapphires from other deposits, close to perfection.
DDE managers will be happy to tell you even more about the subtleties and nuances when choosing this royal stone.
