Blue Sapphires

A blue sapphire is a precious gemstone famous for its cornflower through to royal blue colour hue. It is a variety of the mineral corundum and is one of the hardest natural gemstones, second only to diamond. Highly valued for its durability and brilliance, blue sapphire is often used in fine jewelry, especially engagement rings.

Chemical Composition: Aluminium Oxide Al2O3

Crystal System: Trigonal

Refractive Index: 1.76 to 1.78

Specific Gravity: 3.80 to 4.05

Double Refraction: 0.008 to 0.009

Mohs Hardness: 9

Lustre: Bright Vitreous Lustre

Blue sapphires have many mining sources worldwide, including Australia, Cambodia, Burma, Kashmir, Madagascar, Tanzania, Thailand and the USA. Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is the most crucial source of good quality blue sapphires. The sought-after royal blue and cornflower blue sapphires are mined in this origin.

Blue sapphires are the most popular engagement ring gemstone. A sapphire engagement ring is universally preferred because sapphire rates 9 on the Mohs hardness scale; it has excellent toughness and durability, and it withstands the test of time.

Blue sapphires are graded on their colour, clarity, cut and carat size (the 4C's). Colour and carat size give the largest fluctuations in price. Blue sapphires that have vivid colour saturation and good clarity will command higher prices, with royal and vivid blue sapphires being the most valuable.

The origin of a blue sapphire impacts the value of the gemstone. There is a prestigue attached to blue sapphires from Kashmir (India), Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Burma (Myanmar). At high end auction houses, blue sapphires from these origins fetch record breaking prices.

Heat treatment also impacts the value of the value of a blue sapphire. Whilst heat treatment is considered a normal process for sapphires and accounts for 98% of gem grade sapphires on the global market, unheated blue sapphires command premium prices.

Blue sapphire is the traditional and modern birthstone for the month of September.

Kashmir blue sapphires are considered the rarest. They come from an extremely remote area in the Himalayan mountains, under a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. Kashmir sapphire has a very slight milkiness caused by small needle inclusions. This gives the Kashmir blue sapphire a rich, velvety appearance. Kashmir blue sapphires are rarely in circulation and are generally held in private collections.

In the Middle-Ages it was said that blue sapphire preserved chastisy, and protected from poison, plague, fever and skin diseases. In modern times, a blue sapphire is said to inspire the wearer. It has been associated with strengthening faith, releasing self-judgement, and moving into a healing space of unconditional love.

Blue sapphire can be lab-created (synthetic). Blue sapphires are the most valuable and rarest blue gemstones in their natural, earth-mined form. For this reason, when buying a blue sapphire, you should take precautions. Always buy your blue sapphire from a reputable gem dealer and request a laboratory report. Most laboratory reports are completed upon purchase of the blue sapphire, and a reputable gem dealer will offer several well-known and trusted gem labs as options for the gem certification process.