What does sapphire mean?
Sapphire stands for sincerity, truth, faithfulness and nobility. It has been tied to royalty and romance for thousands of years, and is also said to symbolize fidelity and the soul.
The elite of ancient Greece and Rome believed a blue sapphire protected its owner from harm and envy. Clerics of the Middle Ages wore it because it stood for Heaven.
The name comes from the Greek word sappheiros.
A sky of sapphire
Ancient Persians believed the earth rested on a giant sapphire, and that it was what made the sky blue.
What color is the September birthstone?
Blue. Sapphire is the blue variety of the mineral corundum, and blue sapphire is one of the most popular colored stones there is.
It also comes in a rainbow of other colors. The one color it never goes by is red: red corundum is called ruby.
The most famous blues have names of their own, like the velvety “cornflower” blue of Kashmir and the rich, intense blue of Myanmar.
How to care for a sapphire
Sapphire ranks 9 on the Mohs scale, with excellent toughness and no tendency to split when struck. That makes it a good stone for a ring worn every day.
Many sapphires are heat treated to improve their color, and the result is permanent. Rarer treatments, like fracture filling and dyeing, need gentler care, so ask how a stone was treated before you buy it.
Warm, soapy water is always safe. Fracture-filled or dyed sapphires should only be wiped with a damp cloth.
Where do sapphires come from?
Kashmir, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are the three classic sources. Sapphires are also mined in Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Madagascar and Montana in the United States.
| Kashmir | Myanmar | Sri Lanka | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Known for | Velvety cornflower blue | Rich, intense blue | Bright blues and other colors |
| The story | Found around 1881, when a landslide in the Himalayas opened a pocket of crystals | The Mogok area, where sapphire turns up beside ruby | Mined from river gravels for more than 2,000 years |
Kashmir sapphires were mostly dug between 1882 and 1887, so fine ones now appear only now and then at auction.
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