Sapphire - Stolen from Heaven
Fire according to the Greeks, was stolen from Cacaus by Prometheus, who was the adversary of Zeus. Prometheus knew that fire would be a great gift for mankind. But he also stole a second object from the gods - a sapphire. Obviously, Prometheus knew a good thing when he saw it.
Color Me Blue
When you think of sapphire you will most likely think of blue. The uncanny blue color that the best sapphires display is beyond description. However, sapphires are not just blue but come in every color except red - red is reserved for ruby - basically a red version of sapphire since both are the mineral corundum.
Although a rich blue color is the most popular sapphire color, other colors such as an intense pink are equally appreciated by sapphire lovers. In fact, sapphire jewelry sporting a graduated rainbow of colors are not only colorful but unusual - an excellent choice for the woman who has everything.
If you did not know that sapphires come in a variety of colors, then you are in for an even bigger surprise - they also come without color. Like a white diamond, white sapphires have no color.
They Can Take It
If diamonds are the hardest gemstone - as well as material - known, then what is second place? Sapphire - yes, some synthetics have been developed that are really in second place but we are talking about gemstones here. Hardness is technically the scratch-ability of an item and sapphires do not scratch easily. Watch crystals made of man-made sapphire last seemingly forever.
That is a good thing for sapphire jewelry wearers. The sapphire will not become abraded for a long time. Case in point: Antique pieces of sapphire jewelry do not have scratched up sapphires. Eighty to one hundred years of wear and tear can take its toll on a gemstone but sapphire is the little engine that could and did.
Exotic Birth Certificates
Sapphires often make people think of an Indiana Jones character forging through a jungle to some distant and dangerous mine adjacent to a set of thousand year old ruins with multi-armed well-endowed idols carved in its frescos. The best sapphires came - since the mines are now empty - from Kashmir. Next in the country-of-origin line up for most coveted would be Burma. Exotic is not the reason these sapphires are desired but their color.
Locations as non-Indiana-Jones as Australia and Montana produce sapphires. Thailand, a serious sapphire mining and cutting center, is less exotic because of easy access by travelers an ever shrinking world.
Signing Autographs
Sapphire is not your ordinary gemstone. Some famous people have decided to use it for an engagement stone instead of diamond - Princess Diane, for example. If you want to be different, select a sapphire engagement stone in your favorite color. No need to worry if you will run into someone with an engagement set sporting a sapphire of your favorite color like a department store dress selected from the sale racks.
Process
Gemstones are not found cut and polished but experience a series of processes to become a gemstone. Often the crystals are pale in color and one of the last steps taken is to color enhance the sapphire. The process of accentuating the natural beauty of a sapphire usually consists of gradually heating and cooling it. This process often causes the sapphire to deepen to a quite desirable blue color. Sometimes an unusual color - like orange for instance - will result. The process is permanent.
More advanced processes are now being employed to enhance sapphires. Those gems that will not react to heating and produce a desirable color can be diffused. This process involves introducing color agents to the surface of the sapphire to assist it in becoming a bluer color.
Tips on Buying
• Read everything you can about sapphire before starting your shopping experience. You want to make an informed decision because sapphires are for a lifetime.
• If country-of-origin is part of the sapphire's pedigree, then ask for documentation.
• Sapphires will have inclusions in them, for the most part, but you should examine your stone anyway to be sure that the inclusions are not obvious or prominent enough to distract from the gem's beauty.
• Ask if the store has a gemologist on staff that has examined the stone. What can he or she tell you about the stone?
• Ask what enhancement was in all probability used. As you learned earlier, enhancement is a good thing. However, some enhancements cause a drop in the gem's worth. Adding color only to the peel of the gem - called diffusion - is an example of an inexpensive stone.
Conclusion
Do not lock a sapphire up in a vault box but, instead, wear and enjoy it often. If you are worried about loss, insure it. Sapphire was taken from the gods, for that reason you are wearing a heavenly gemstone.
