Savvy Sapphires
"From Mine to You"
Sapphire is one of the hardest natural gemstones — the mineral corundum measuring 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. Sapphires aren't only blue; they occur in many colors including pink, yellow, orange, green, purple, violet and even colorless varieties. September's birthstone is sapphire.
Mountainside Sapphires brought to you
Some sapphires naturally display a star. The phenomenon is called asterism. It occurs when light reflects from tiny, oriented needle-like inclusions inside the gemstone. Star sapphires commonly display six rays, while 12-rayed stars are considerably rarer.
How to test the "Realness" of Sapphires
Color is extremely important when evaluating sapphire. GIA describes color as the most important quality factor for sapphire. For blue sapphire, highly valued colors are generally strongly saturated, medium to medium-dark blue to violetish blue.
Origin
Historically important sources include Sri Lanka, Kashmir and Myanmar, while sapphires are also found in places including Madagascar, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia and Montana in the United States.
White Sapphire — "From Mine to Yours"
White Sapphire in the raw state comes from Sri Lanka, Australia and places like Madagascar. With a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, the durability with these Sapphires is more than any other natural stone. This natural stone is usually clear or white — really meaning colorless. Most in the raw state, White Sapphire is grey tones and in hexagon shapes, some even in crystal shapes.