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It's a zodiac stone for Cancer, Capricorn,
Sagittarius, Taurus, and Virgo.
Uniformity of color is important to sapphires
value. Heat treating is often used to darken
them, and improve clarity. Sapphires are used
mainly for jewelry, but fragility makes them
subject to chipping and fracture.
A rare variety of sapphire, called "Color
Changing Sapphire," looks different in
various lights, blue in natural light, violet
in artificial light. The cornflower blue variety,
called "Kashmir Sapphire," is the
most popular shade of the gem. These sapphires
were discovered in India, 1880.
Besides India, mines are found in Sri Lanka,
Myanmar, Thailand, Australia, Nigeria, and more.
The largest specimens come from India's Kashmir
mine, where 5" (12.7 cm) by 3" (7.62
cm) crystals were discovered. On display at
the American Museum of Natural History, is the
563 carat "Star of India." Its asterism
and deep blue, milky haze are of sheer brilliance,
like looking into a fallen piece of space.
Sapphires have been made synthetically, since
1902, and are nearly indistinguishable from
the real thing. Certain shades of tourmaline,
zircon, quartz, and pyrite, can be mistaken
for sapphire, so take care in any sapphire purchase
to ensure authenticity.
Choose
your own gorgeous birthstone jewelry at JeGem.com
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