You are going to ask the girl you love to be yours forever.
There is nothing ordinary about this occasion. There is nothing ordinary about
your girl. You want to give her a ring that is anything but ordinary, to show
her how you feel about her and about your relationship.
About Sapphires
Sapphires are some of the most popular gemstones. They are
commonly used as the focal gem in all kinds of jewelry, including rings,
bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. They are also used as complementary gems in
settings that have a different focal gem. Sapphire is composed of aluminum oxide.
It is a valuable stone with a Mohs hardness of 9. The only natural gems harder
than sapphires are diamonds. Sapphires are valuable, sometimes drawing
thousands of dollars per carat.
History
Major sources of sapphires include Madagascar, Australia,
Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and even Montana in the United State. In
the past, much of the supply of sapphires came from the Kashmir region of
Pakistan and India. This region is known for its Kashmir-Blue Sapphire gems.
However, little sapphire comes from that area of the world today.
Range of Colors
What makes sapphire so unique? Its color is one thing that
puts it in a class of its own. Commonly, sapphires are blue. Cornflower blue,
or the Kashmir Sapphire is the most valuable sapphire color. However, sapphires
can naturally occur in hues of yellow, pink, green, purple, orange, and black.
With each of these colors, there can be only a hint of color, to very intense
color. Another color that is very valuable is the orange-pink Padparadschah
color. This color is extremely rare in the natural form. There are also
sapphire gems known as color-changing sapphires, which show different colors
depending on the lighting.
Sapphire is pleochroic. This means that it displays either a
lighter or a more intense color depending on the angle. For instance, a
pleochroic sapphire may be blue when viewed at one angle, but purple when
viewed at a different angle. Some sapphire gems can be layered with light hues
interspersed with more intense hues of the same color. This is a result of what
is known as color zoning which can happen during the formation of layers of the
stone over time. Still others may be multicolored as with green and yellow side
by side in the same stone.
Treatments
Most sapphire stones are treated with heat. This is a
routine treatment that serves to remove inclusions and to increase the
intensity of color of the gem. Most sapphires in jewelry stores have been treated with heat.
However, sapphire gems with exceptional color that are left untreated are
usually worth far more than heat-treated gems.
Sapphire Engagement Rings
Another color of sapphire that is extremely rare and
valuable is white. White sapphire refers to clear, colorless sapphire.
Naturally occurring white sapphires are very rare. They look very much like a
diamond. In fact white sapphire
engagement rings are becoming more popular.
Make a Statement
Just like your relationship is unique, every sapphire stone
is different. Choosing sapphire for your engagement ring gives you the
opportunity to more fully express how you feel about your engagement and about
your soon-to-be fiancé!
Article courtesy of
ShaneCo.com
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Saphires are beautiful however I think I like my diamond engagement ring better - I've been wearing it for 34 years and will continue wearing until I am no longer here.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that white stones are rare. I have a couple of rings with white sapphire.
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