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The Best and Most Comprehensive Guide to Sapphires in Los Angeles and on the Web!
Copyright © 2006 INTA GEMS, Inc. All rights reserved.
What makes the sapphire so fancy?
The exquisite beauty, the magnificent colors, the sparkling transparency, the constancy and durability are all qualities associated with this gemstone by gemstone lovers and specialists alike. The sapphire belongs to the corundum group, the members of which are characterized by their excellent hardness (9 on the Mohs scale of 10). Indeed their hardness is exceeded only by that of the diamond, which is the hardest material known to man. Because of this hardness and durability, sapphires are easy to care for and maintain, requiring no more than the usual care on the part of the wearer.
GGemstones in the corundum group consist of crystals of aluminum oxides (Al2O3) formed as a result of heat and pressure at great depths of the earth. The presence of small amounts of other elements, especially iron and chromium, are responsible for the coloring, turning a crystal that was basically white into a blue, red, yellow, pink or greenish sapphire. However, this does not mean that every corundum is also a sapphire. For centuries the opinions among the specialists differed as to which stones should be categorized as sapphires. An agreement was finally reached that red colored species, colored by chromium, shall be named rubies and all others sapphires.
The fact that sapphires also come in various other colors was for a long time the sole proprietary knowledge of insiders. In the gemstone trade, sapphires which are not blue are referred to as fancies. In order to make it easier to differentiate between them, they are referred to not only by their gemstone name but also by a description of their color. In other words, fancy sapphires are described as , purple, pink, green or white sapphires.
There are other rare and unusual categories of sapphires which are in unique categories by themselves. A distinctive orange variety with a fine pink undertone is known by its poetic name of padparadscha, which means something like 'lotus flower'. Star sapphires are another rarity, half-dome-cut sapphires with a star-shaped reflection which seems to glide across the surface of the stone when moved.