The beautiful word of sapphires

Sapphire is the second most popular precious gemstone used in engagement rings after diamonds. With a very high hardness value, sapphire gemstones are very durable. Therefore they are suitable for the type of jewellery one would expect to wear for a lifetime.

There are many reasons to go for sapphire gemstone jewellery besides its durability. The rarity of sapphire gemstone makes them very valuable so that it is qualified for a precious gift such as an engagement ring. Low-quality sapphire can go cheap but there is no upper limit for the value of a fine quality good size sapphire gemstone.

The colour range you find in sapphires cannot be found in any other gemstone in the world. You can get virtually any colour in a sapphire. Each natural sapphire gemstone has its own uniques colour defined by the other minerals mixed with it. White sapphire gemstone is the best alternative for diamonds because they are colourless. A very dark blue sapphire gemstone known as "Kaka Nil (means blue like a crow)" appears opaque and black to the naked eye but the blue colour can be observed on a very bright beam of light such as from a gem inspection torch.

In between black and white, you can find any colour in sapphires. But some colours are more common and popular. Blue sapphire is the most common colour variety and also the most expensive. When it comes to sapphires, the quality of the colour is more complicated than that of diamonds. Even among blue sapphires, certain blue varieties such as cornflower blue sapphire and royal blue sapphires are more popular. Even with the same hue, the colour characteristics of sapphire gemstones can be vary based on the intensity of the colour. Some love the darker and deeper look and others like light shaded. But the range in the middle is considered better than the extremes.

Apart from blue sapphires, pink sapphires and yellow sapphires are the other two most common colours. Pink colour shades can vary from almost light baby pink to bright hot pink. Sapphires are found in purple or violet shades and some colour shades in between pink and purple may either be called pink sapphires or purple sapphires. A very rare variety of pink sapphires call "Padparadscha Sapphire' is known as the king of all sapphires. This variety can be visually distinguished by the unique colour range resembling the colours of lotus flowers and the colours of a tropical sunset. However, a laboratory test is mandatory to confirm whether a sapphire is a padparadscha sapphire, even you get the same colour as a padparadscha. This test confirms the presence of a specific mineral in the gemstone.

Some sapphires have two or more very distinguishable colours in them. They are called bi-colour sapphires or party sapphires. Australian teal sapphires are often called party sapphires since they have a mix of blue, green, and yellow in them. Some colour combinations of bi-colour sapphires are very unique.

Colour change sapphires are another very interesting sapphire type. Under artificial light, these sapphires appear in a different colour than under daylight.