I love sapphires for their durability and the spectrum of colors available. They make an amazingly durable everyday gemstone, which is why we have so many in our collection. Sapphires come from all over the world; Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Montana, Australia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Thailand, and the list goes on. The most well known sapphires historically are from Kashmir and Sri Lanka.
Why are Kashmir and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) sapphires so famous? The key lies in their long history. Ceylon sapphires have long been prized by the Persians, Greeks & Romans for thousands of years. The British empire then brought this gem trade to the world, stabilizing its productivity and availability. That’s why the Crown Jewels contain so many Ceylon sapphires. Kashmir sapphires are far more rare with a distinct velvety saturation of color. Unlike Ceylon sapphires, Kashmir sapphire mines were depleted in the 1880’s within a 5 years.
Personally, when I look at a sapphire, I look for luster and color, origin is always on the back burner. A montana sapphire can shine as brightly as a Ceylon sapphire. A Madagascar sapphire can be more saturated than a Kashmir sapphire. It depends on the individual stone’s characteristics. You wouldn’t buy ugly shoes simply because they were made in Italy now would you? Just because Italian shoes are well known for quality does not make a British made shoe less good. The quality is in the stone itself.
The topic of heating for sapphires has come up quite a bit recently. Sapphires are heated to enhance color and clarity. The traditional heating process is with the original rough stone put onto some hot coals and left there for a short duration of time.
Say a little prayer and a once light blue sapphire may become a miraculous corn flower blue sapphire after heating. A little prayer is needed because heating does not always guarantee a good color outcome. Even with heating, clarity and color enhancement is limited. Heating is a super common practice and does not affect the integrity of the gemstone.
The color from the heating lasts forever. Over 95% of all sapphires available in the market are heated. And of the remaining percentage of sapphires, only less than 1% of those gems are unheated and of gemstone quality. This means that if you are lucky enough to get an unheated sapphire, it is like owning a unicorn. Unicorns also come at a very high price tag. (Some of you are doing the math and 96% is not 100%. That’s because the 4% are glass filled sapphire, not for the fine jewelry market.)
If your budget allows, invest in an unheated sapphire, but be prepared to trade on size and perhaps color. It’s like buying a D colored Internally Flawless diamond.
I say buy what you love and what makes your heart flutter. I’ve done the work and chosen the best of the best already for the collection, you only need to choose your favorite for what’s in your budget.