the sapphire
Corundum Family.
Color: Sapphire is the blue variety of the corundum family.
Main origins: Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Burma, Kashmir.
The stones from the mines of Kashmir often have a color and crystal of incomparable beauty. These stones are all the more rare as these mines are no longer exploited today.
In History
Sapphire has been a prized gem for centuries by royalty and nobility. During the Middle Ages, clergymen wore them to symbolize heaven, and laymen believed that the stone attracted heavenly blessings. The Persians believed that the world rested on a giant sapphire that projected its splendid color onto the universe.
The "Star of India" sapphire, a Ceylon sapphire of 563.35 carats, is currently in the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Two famous sapphires, the "St. Edward" and the "Stuart" are placed on the imperial crown of England.
Rockefeller sapphire: This is a rectangular, 62.02-carat Burmese sapphire. Its weight, size, crystal clarity and intense color - sometimes called Royal Blue - make it one of the most beautiful sapphires known in the jewelry world.
COLORED SAPPHIRES
Family of Corundum. Color: Pink, purple, yellow, green, gray, brown, colorless, etc. Provenances: Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Burma, Kenya, Tanzania. As for rubies and sapphires, of the same family, each stone is unique, by its color, its shades, the quality of its crystal and the beauty of its size.
