We do not sell sapphire. It is blue corundum, and many cheap blue 'sapphire' beads are dyed quartz, glass or lab-made.
Oxide (corundum) · Corundum
Sapphire
Zafiro
- Palette
- Blue Yellow Green Pink Purple Orange
- Mined in
- Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Myanmar, Thailand, Australia, Tanzania, United States, India, Kenya
- Hardness
- Mohs 9.0 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- Prehistoric
- Named for
- Greek sappheiros, of Semitic origin, likely Hebrew sapir
- Also sold as
- blue corundum, fancy sapphire
- Intention
- Calm Strength
- Looking for
- Focus and clarity Calm Communication Prosperity
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Nearly all sapphire is heated to deepen the blue and clear the stone, and some is also given color by diffusion. Heated is normal and should be disclosed.
Not in our pieces now
DEAD BATTERY
When thieves took the Star of India in 1964, it was the only gem in its collection with an alarm, and the alarm's battery was dead.
HK$52,280,000
A Kashmir sapphire ring sold in October 2015 for HK$52,280,000, about $242,000 per carat, the auction record per carat for sapphire.
392.52 CARATS
The Blue Belle of Asia, a 392.52-carat cushion-cut sapphire from Sri Lanka, is held by an anonymous owner.
What it is
Corundum in any color but red, best known in deep blue. Clear stones are glassy, and some show a star. We do not sell it. Many cheap blue 'sapphire' beads are dyed quartz, glass or lab-made.
What gives it its color
Blue sapphire gets its color from traces of iron and titanium; pink and red come from chromium, and pale yellow to green from iron alone. Heating deepens the blue, and some stones get color added by diffusion of titanium or beryllium.
Where it comes from
Today much sapphire comes from Madagascar (around Ilakaka) and Sri Lanka, with Myanmar, Thailand, Kenya, Tanzania and Australia. Kashmir and Montana's Yogo deposits are historic.
In history
Gem sapphires were being heated to improve their color in Roman times, and Pope Innocent III ruled that bishops' rings be set with an unengraved sapphire. The 563-carat Star of India, mined in Sri Lanka, was bought for J. P. Morgan's collection for the 1900 Paris Exposition, and was stolen from New York's American Museum of Natural History in October 1964 and recovered from a Miami bus locker in January 1965.
What's said about it
In crystal lore today, blue sapphire is the stone for focus and calm. It is also kept for clear speech and for wisdom.
Older writers called it a gem of kings and kept it for bishops' rings, as pure as the sky. An old tale says the commandments were written on sapphire, though that was probably lapis.
People wear it as a ring or wrist piece, or carry it in a pocket.
How people wear or keep it: On the wrist, in a pocket, in a wallet, or on a desk.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, sapphire is paired with the throat and third eye chakras, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: on the wrist, in a pocket, in a wallet. People reach for it when they want focus and clarity, calm, communication, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraThroat, Third Eye
ZodiacLibra
BirthstoneSeptember, April
Anniversary5th and 45th
Also calledblue corundum, fancy sapphire
Care
- Very hard and durable; fine for everyday wear.
- Most blue sapphire is heated to deepen color, which is stable and permanent.
- Clean with a soft cloth and mild soapy water, then dry.
- Dyed or coated 'sapphire' beads should not be soaked or left in strong sun.
How to tell what you have
- Natural sapphire shows angular growth lines and mineral bits; lab-grown flame-fusion sapphire shows curved growth lines.
- Diffusion-colored stones can be very hard to detect without a lab.
- Hardness 9; only a diamond scratches it, so a bead that scratches easily is not sapphire.
What sets the price
Sapphire is rarely sold as strands of beads. For the stones that are cut, price follows how intense and even the blue is, how clean the stone is, and where it came from; dark, dull stones are common and bring little.
Rules and sourcing
Sapphires from Myanmar (Burma) fall under US sanctions that block dealings with the Burmese state gem enterprise and other listed Burmese gem companies, and US agencies name sapphires among the stones to check for hidden Burmese origin. A seller should be able to say where the stones came from. Nearly all sapphire is heated to deepen the blue, and some is given color by diffusion. The FTC jewelry guides call for a seller to disclose it.
Questions people ask at our table
What is sapphire?
Sapphire is corundum in any color except red, which is called ruby. Blue is the best known, but yellow, green, pink and orange stones exist.
Do you sell sapphire?
No. Gem sapphire is costly and we do not carry it. Our blue stones are sodalite, blue tiger eye and others.
Are cheap blue 'sapphire' beads real?
Often not. Many are dyed quartz, glass, or lab-grown corundum. Ask for the stone to be named.
Is sapphire heated?
Most blue sapphire is heated to improve the color. It is a long-standing practice, and the color is lasting.
Is lapis lazuli the same as sapphire?
No. Lapis is a deep blue rock with gold flecks of pyrite; sapphire is a single clear mineral. The two were often confused in old texts.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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