Sapphire

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Physical & Optical Properties

Category Precious Gems
Mohs Hardness 9.0
Specific Gravity 3.95 – 4.03
Refractive Index 1.762 – 1.788
Crystal System Trigonal
Luster rutile
Cleavage None
Color blue
Birefringence 0.008
Dispersion 0.018
Pleochroism Pink sapphires - strong: pink - pinkish-red; Orange/brown stones - distinct: brownish-orange - orangy to colorless; Yellow sapphires - weak: light yellow - yellow-(orangy); Violet/purple sapphires - distinct: bluish-purple - yellow-brown/orange; Blue sapphires - strong: dark (violetish) blue - greenish-blue; Green sapphires - distinct: yellow-green - green to blue-green

Mohs Hardness

Mohs Hardness: 9.0
1 Soft10 Hard

Crystal System

a a a Trigonal (Rhombohedral) a = b = c, α = β = γ ≠ 90°

Value & Market

Price Tier Investment ($5,000+/ct)

Where to Buy Sapphire

Blue Nile Fine jewelry retailer
James Allen Gemstone jewelry
Brilliant Earth Ethically sourced gems
Amazon Wide selection

Links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Cultural Significance

Birthstone Month 9 (modern)

Treatments

Some imitations are made from doublets-blue cobalt glass with a crown of garnet or a crown of green sapphire and a pavillion of synthetic blue sapphire. Lately doublets have appeared using 2 small natural sapphires. - Gemstones of the world, Walter Schumann, 2001, p 86 9Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references 3.95 to 4.03Walter Schumann, Gemstones of the world (2001) More from other references BrittleMichael O?Donoghue, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) NoneMichael O?Donoghue, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) Uneven,ConchoidalMichael O?Donoghue, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) 1.762 to 1.788Walter Schumann, Gemstones of the world (2001) More from other references Uniaxial/-Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references 0.008 to 0.009Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references Pink sapphires - strong: pink - pinkish-red; Orange/brown stones - distinct: brownish-orange - orangy to colorless; Yellow sapphires - weak: light yellow - yellow-(orangy); Violet/purple sapphires - distinct: bluish-purple - yellow-brown/orange; Blue sapphires - strong: dark (violetish) blue - greenish-blue; Green sapphires - distinct: yellow-green - green to blue-greenHerve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references 0.018Michael O?Donoghue, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) Star 6 - (rare)12Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) Blue in various tones, colorless, pink, orange, yellow, green, purple, blackWalter Schumann, Gemstones of the world (2001) More from other references In artificial incandescent light, some sapphires can appear to be ink-colored or black-blue.Walter Schumann, Gemstones of the world (2001) Green synthetic: usually red. Pink: reddish.Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) The coloring agents in blue sapphire are iron and titanium; and in violet stones, vanadium. A small iron content results in yellow and green tones; chromium produces pink, iron, and vanadium orange tones.Walter Schumann, Gemstones of the world (2001) Transparent,Translucent,OpaqueWalter Schumann, Gemstones of the world (2001) Subadamantine,Vitreous,PearlyMichael O?Donoghue, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) Pearly on parting surfaces Green synthetic: commonly orange to dark red. Yellow/orange: inert to strong orange. Pink: inert to orangy-red; synthetic: commonly strong orangy-red.Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) Colorless: mostly inert, sometimes dark red-(orangy), synthetic: common (chalky) blue. Green: inert to weak orangy-red. Yellow/orange synthetic: (very) weak yellowish-orange to pinkish-red. Blue: weaker if any; Synthetic: mostly chalky blue-(green). Heat-treated blue: the colorless portions of the gem may fluoresce chalky blue-(green)Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) Colorless: inert to orangy-red; colorless synthetic: inert. Green: inert. Yellow/orange synthetic: strong yellowish to reddish orange. Blue: inert to orangy-red.Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) TrigonalHerve Nicolas Lazzarelli, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) Doubly pointy, barrel-shaped, hexagonal pyramids, tabloid-shapedWalter Schumann, Gemstones of the world (2001) More from other references Host rocks of sapphire are dolomotized limestones, marble, basalt, or pegmatite. It is mined mainly from alluvial deposits or deposits formed by weathering, rarely from the primary rock.Walter Schumann, Gemstones of the world (2001) Sapphire - Locality: UnknownSapphire - Locality: AfghanistanSapphire - Locality: KenyaSapphire - Locality: MozambiqueSapphire - Locality: Tunduru, TanzaniaSapphire - Locality: Unknown (possibly Australia)Sapphire - Locality: Unknown Partially healed fractures ("fingerprint", "fly's wing"), rutile needles ("silk") intersecting at 60�-120� and other guest crystals. For pink stone: cluster of transparent rounded or angular crystals (zircon) - Blue Chart Gem Identification, Herve Nicolas Lazzarelli, 2010, p. 2 Sapphire information at mindat.org Afghanistan&nbsp; Bowersox et al. (2000) Australia&nbsp; McClure and Smith (2001) Pecover, 1987 McClure and Smith (2001) gemexplorer.org Sutherland and Abduriyim (2009) Sutherland and Abduriyim (2009) Sutherland and Abduriyim (2009) Cambodia&nbsp; mindat.org mindat.org Ngu and Ngoc (1986), Sutherland et al. (1998) Canada&nbsp; Wilson (2007) E.Ya. Kievlenko (2003) Geology of gems, p. 49 China&nbsp; Li (2009) Galibert and Hughes (1995) Galibert and Hughes (1995), Li (2009) Guo et al. (1992) Colombia&nbsp; Sutherland et al. (2008) Czech Republic&nbsp; India&nbsp; Gemexplorer.org McClure et al. (2005) Kenya&nbsp; Simonet et al. (2004) Kyrgyzstan&nbsp; Laos&nbsp; Sutherland et al. (2002) Madagascar&nbsp; Milisenda et al. (2001) Milisenda et al. (2001) Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Madagascar - extraLapis English No.1, 2001, p. 90 Milisenda et al. (2001) Gonthier (1997) Milisenda et al. (2001) Milisenda et al. (2001) Milisenda et al. (2001) Rakotosamizanany et al. (2009) Malawi&nbsp; Emmett (2000) Myanmar&nbsp; Thein (2008) [var: Star Sapphire] Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok [var: Star Sapphire] Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Mitchell et al. (2007) Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Ted Themelis (2008) Gems & mines of Mogok Hlaing (2008) Hlaing (2008) Nepal&nbsp; Skalwold (2013) Smith et al. (1997) Nigeria&nbsp; Pakistan&nbsp; Russia&nbsp; Pakhomova et al. (2006) E.Ya. Kievlenko (2003) Geology of gems, p. 62 Sri Lanka&nbsp; Dissanayake et al. (2000) Dissanayake et al. (2000) Dissanayake et al. (2000) Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Dissanayake et al. (2000) Joseph A. Freilich.; Econ Geol (1981) 76:733-738 Dissanayake et al. (2000) Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Gems and Gemology, Summer 2012 Pardieu and Senoble (2005) E.G. Zoysa (1999) Switzerland&nbsp; gemexplorer.org Tanzania&nbsp; Gemexplorer.org http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/tanzania-mines.htm Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Gemexplorer.org Michelou (2006) Michelou (2006) Thailand&nbsp; Hughes (1997) Schlussel (1991) UK&nbsp; E.Ya. Kievlenko (2003) Geology of gems, p. 48 USA&nbsp; Mychaluk (2001) Mychaluk (2001) Berg (2004) Garnier et al. (2004) White (2010) White (2010) mindat.org White (2010) Vietnam&nbsp; Nguyen et al. (2007) Nguyen et al. (2007) Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Pardieu and Senoble (2005) Gemexplorer.org Zimbabwe&nbsp; L.F. Marsh and F. Mugumbate (2009)

About Sapphire

Sapphire is the blue variety of corundum, though it occurs in virtually every color except red (which is called ruby), with the most prized stones displaying a velvety cornflower blue colored by iron and titanium. Kashmir sapphires, mined from a remote Himalayan valley, are considered the world's finest for their unique sleepy cornflower blue, while excellent stones also come from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar. As September's birthstone and the traditional 45th anniversary gem, sapphire is one of history's most beloved gemstones.

Compare With

Sapphire vs Aquamarine Sapphire vs Cordierite (Iolite) Sapphire vs Diamond Sapphire vs Emerald Sapphire vs Lapis lazuli

Origins

Jewelry Use

Durability 10/10

Suitable for daily wear

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sapphire?
Sapphire is the blue variety of corundum, though it occurs in virtually every color except red (which is called ruby), with the most prized stones displaying a velvety cornflower blue colored by iron and titanium. Kashmir sapphires, mined from a remote Himalayan valley, are considered the world's fi
What is the hardness of Sapphire?
Sapphire has a Mohs hardness of 9.0, making it excellent for use in jewelry.
What color is Sapphire?
Sapphire is primarily Blue.
Where is Sapphire found?
Sapphire is found in Kashmir (India), Mogok (Myanmar), Montana (United States), Pailin (Cambodia), Ratnapura (Sri Lanka).
How much does Sapphire cost?
Sapphire falls into the Investment ($5,000+/ct) price range. Prices vary based on color, clarity, cut, and origin.

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