What makes sapphire valuable

Although historically, Kashmir, Sri Lanka and Burma were equated with sapphires of higher calibre and still command a premium, with so many more producing countries, the playing field has levelled. Equally, the gemstones produced by each of these countries ranges in quality from deposit to deposit. The value of a sapphire must be judged by its individual merit, and not its origin. Learn more about gemstones with the Gem-A Gemmology Foundation course, here. If you're not ready to embark on a course with Gem-A, why not try our workshops?

Discover more, here. Get in Touch Can't find what you're looking for? Read more: Discover the Storytelling Powers of Master Gem Carvers If the environment in which the crystal started growing in the earth remains stable, it has the potential to develop into a large, clean and vibrant gem. What factors determine the value of a coloured gemstone?

How do treatments affect the value of a sapphire? What about unusual corundum colours? What about Padparadscha sapphires? Read more: Princess Eugenie and her Padparadscha Sapphire Engagement Ring The term has since been overwritten by Western interpretation and is defined as a sapphire of a particular pinkish orange hue, often compared to the colour of a tropical sunset. What are Kashmir sapphires?

Read more: Ancient Sapphires and Adventures in Ceylon The majority of the sapphires were obtained by the Maharaja of Kashmir and placed in the State Treasury, but those that did find their way out of the country were coveted by the wealthy, and set into mounts created by the best jewellery houses. Another noteworthy type of sapphire is the Padparadscha sapphire. As we mentioned above, these are extremely rare, and have a captivating allure not many other styles can match.

The exact color of a Padparadscha sapphire is hard to pinpoint, a tropical mix of pink and orange. This color matched with a rose-gold setting make for absolutely stunning pieces of jewelry. Interestingly, there are no red sapphires. Technically, these are rubies. At a certain color saturation, a red ruby will become a pink sapphire. While diamonds are the go-to stone for engagement rings and fine jewelry, the sapphire is growing in popularity.

The color of a sapphire offers an interesting alternative to the classic, clear diamond. You can also save quite a significant amount by purchasing a sapphire rather than a diamond. Sapphire necklaces and pendants are very popular, and sapphire engagement rings are coming up more often as well. A common setting for sapphire jewelry is a halo or pave setting. The deep blue sapphire in the middle of the piece is beautifully complemented by a ring of diamonds surrounding it.

Head to head, diamonds are higher quality gems. Because of this, a piece of diamond jewelry will be more resistant to scratches and less likely to wear down or become damaged. Another pro for diamonds is how they refract light, resulting in the stunning brilliance diamonds are known for. This is reflected in the price, so if you want a beautiful piece of jewelry for less, a sapphire can make a great alternative.

A beautifully colored sapphire can catch attention as well as a diamond. Carat for carat, sapphires are almost always cheaper than diamonds. As an example, here is a 1. Sapphire rings and diamond rings will often be a similar price, however, this is due to larger sized sapphires being used more often. To compare, these two rings from Blue Nile — an oval diamond in a three stone setting with baguettes and an oval sapphire in an identical setting — are similar prices. However, the diamond ring features a 1.

James Allen is one of the best places to shop for fine jewelry online. Their products are superior quality to most other vendors, and they have a great range of blue, pink, yellow and green sapphires, which you can inspect in high-quality degree images on their site.

They have some of the most beautiful blue sapphires and sapphire jewelry you will find anywhere. While not always the most reliable source for jewelry, Amazon has some sapphire jewelry as well. We would not recommend buying an expensive piece like an engagement ring on Amazon, but they may offer decent options for smaller pieces of jewelry like earrings.

Finally, Blue Nile has a small range of gemstone engagement rings and other pieces of jewelry. They do not sell loose sapphires, but the sapphire engagement rings they have are beautiful. Ready to buy? Shop for gemstone engagement rings here. Before you buy a diamond, get personal buying advice from industry veterans.

We'll help you get the best diamond for the money. We are a team of diamond experts who will teach you to identify scams and avoid spending money on features you can't see.

Tell us as much information as possible to help us help you ie, budget, preferences, etc. Deal Alert! Jump To Section What is a Sapphire? What Does a Sapphire Mean? Beautiful 5. Other clarity characteristics in sapphire are included mineral crystals, partially healed breaks that look like fingerprints, color zoning, and color banding.

Star sapphires and star rubies belong to the phenomenal corundum category. The star effect is called asterism. Stars are usually made up of 2, 3, or 6 intersecting bands, resulting in 4, 6, or rarely 12 rays. Star sapphires usually have stars have 6 rays, and rayed stars are quite rare. Two different sets of inclusions—one of rutile and one of hematite—oriented in slightly different directions can cause a rayed star.

Hematite inclusions cause asterism in black star sapphires. Ideally, the rays should be uniform in strength, reach from girdle to girdle on the cabochon, and intersect at the top center of the stone. The best stars are straight, not fuzzy, wavy, or broken. The best and most expensive star corundum is semi-transparent, with just enough silk to create a well-defined star.

Too much silk can harm transparency and also lead to poor color, lowering the value of the stone considerably. To achieve the best overall color, maintain the best proportions, and retain the most weight possible, cutters focus on factors like color zoning, pleochroism, and the lightness or darkness of a crystal to best determine how to orient the gem during cutting.

Color zoning—areas of different colors in a stone—is a common sapphire characteristic. Blue sapphire often has angular zones of blue and lighter blue. To accommodate color zoning in some sapphires, cutters orient the concentrated color in a location that offers the best visible color in the cut stone. In Sri Lankan sapphires, the color is often concentrated close to the surface of the crystal. If a cutter can orient the culet within the concentrated area of color, the stone will appear entirely blue in the face-up position.

Pleochroism refers to different bodycolors in different crystal viewing directions. Blue sapphires often have greenish blue and violetish blue pleochroism. Star corundum must be cut as a cabochon to display asterism. The cabochon must have an appealing appearance, with the star properly centered when the gem rests on its base.

Excessive height also makes the stone difficult to mount. If the dome is cut too shallow, the star will be visible only from directly above. The more slowly the cooling occurs, the larger the sapphire will grow.

The conditions under which magma cools are very likely to introduce changes in pressure and environmental factors that produce inclusions in the sapphires. The presence of these inclusions and trace minerals create the unique color and overall look of each colored gemstone. As a result, each sapphire is truly unique and no two will ever be the same or have the exact same internal structure. A round cut Nigerian blue sapphire with stunning clarity.

In order to judge the clarity of a sapphire, the size, location, quantity, and overall appearance of inclusions are of the greatest importance. For that reason, we have a more extensive discussion of inclusions on our site.

While diamonds are valued for their lack of inclusions, all of gemstones are expected to have a certain amount of inclusions as a result of their natural crystal growth. These deep blue sapphire crystal rough pieces will all have different clarity and be cut into different carat sizes. For example, it may describe the faceting style or shape of a finished gemstone. Proportion refers to the rough dimensions and overall symmetry of a gemstone. A diagram showing the overall cut grades for sapphires.

Like most transparent gems, sapphires reveal their full beauty when they are cut. However, because sapphire rough is so valuable, dealers and consumers accept gemstones without the precision cuts required of fine diamonds. In general, gem cutters follow four guiding principles when they fashion sapphires:.

The following are terms that help explain the elements of a cut:. Face-up cut grade diagram. Profile cut grade diagram. An example of a window and extinction in a cut and faceted pink sapphire. Window: an area in a transparent gemstone where the body color appears to be see-through or watery. This occurs when the crown or pavilion angles are cut shallowly, causing light to leak out of the pavilion. Brilliance: the amount of light that a cut gemstone reflects back to the viewer from the interior of the stone.

Brilliance is a consequence of cut and it is an important characteristic because it determines the perceived liveliness and color of a gemstone. Extinction: an area of a transparent gemstone where the body color looks very dark to black. This occurs when gemstones are cut with excessively deep pavilions. A group of blue sapphires showing varying carat weight and size.

Large gemstones are harder to find than smaller ones. The effect of carat weight upon sapphire value varies from color to color. Yellow sapphires are comparatively plentiful in sizes above five carats, but five-carat padparadscha sapphires are extremely hard to come by.

As with any gemstone, per carat prices increase with overall carat weight. Expect steep increases in the price per carat at the one, three, five, and ten-carat levels.

Fine blue, pink, orange, or padparadscha sapphires that exceed fifteen carats are especially valuable and can fetch very high prices at auction. Fine quality sapphire rough is extremely expensive, so quality stones are not usually cut to calibrated sizes because it could result in a significant loss of weight. Commercial quality sapphires are more likely to conform to standard calibrated sizes.