The primary birthstone for the month of September is the typically blue variety of the mineral corundum that goes by the name of sapphire.
The Origins and Cultural Significance of Sapphire
Etymologically, the English word “sapphire” stems from the Latin word sapphirus, though there are linguists who believe the word comes from the Sanskrit term Shanipriya meaning “dear to Saturn” (although many have long connected blue sapphires with the planet Venus).
Historically speaking, it is said that the Ancient Greeks associated the gemstone with the god of prophecy, Apollo, which is why Greeks often wore the gem during consultations with oracles at Delphi. According to lore, sapphires tapped the power of the “third eye,” making pronouncements considered too difficult to understand seem clearer. Ancient Persian leaders also looked at sapphire in a good light through their belief that Earth rested on a giant sapphire and that the stone’s reflection colored the heavens blue. In the Middle Ages, clergymen wore blue sapphires as a way to represent their connection with Heaven, and in the British monarchy, sapphire has been associated with romance for centuries up to an including being worn as an engagement ring by Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, now Duchess of Cambridge.
Notable Sapphire Jewelry
The 423-carat Logan sapphire. Photo via Flickr/stannate.
In early 2016, the largest sapphire ever mined – a “star sapphire” – was discovered in the Ratnapura mines in the southern part of Sri Lanka. It weighed a whopping 1,404.49 carats and reports originally generated valued the stones anywhere between $175 million to $300 million.
Some of the world’s most famous sapphires include the Star of Bombay, a 182-carat Sri Lankan star sapphire given to silent film star Mary Pickford by her then-husband, Douglas Fairbanks Sr.; the roughly 423-carat Logan Sapphire, one of the largest gem-quality blue sapphires in the world; the Rockefeller Sapphire, a 62.02-carat internally flawless cornflower blue sapphire acquired by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1934 from an Indian Maharajah thought to have been the seventh and the last Nizam of Hyderabad; and the Stuart Sapphire of the Imperial Crown, which is placed in the back of the 1937 version of Queen Victoria’s State Crown.
The Properties and Hardness of Sapphire
Photo via National Jeweler.
One of the most significant characteristics of the gemstone sapphire is its presence in nearly every corner of the world. Asian countries producing natural sapphires include Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Kashmir (which produces some of the most valuable sapphires in existence). Africa has put forth deposits coming from Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, and Madagascar. And in the United States, the state of Montana has seen its fair share of sapphires being mined.
Other than the traditional blue sapphire, corundum is also available in what is referred to as “fancy-colored sapphires” which have been found in colors such as orange, pink, purple, violet, green, yellow, gray, black, and even brown. Red sapphire does not exist because the red variety of corundum is a ruby, although when a ruby is found to be an extremely light color of red to the point where it can be categorized as pink, the stone will then be known as a pink sapphire.
Sapphire scores a 9.0 on the Mohs scale, putting the gem just below diamond and moissanite (which scores a 9.5) in terms of hardness. It is a popular gemstone for engagement rings and everyday jewelry due to its wearability, durability, and overall beauty.
Does the colour or shade of blue change the quality or value of sapphires?
Yes, the deeper the blue of the sapphire the more valuable the stone. Deep blue sapphires with extremely high clarity are more rare and therefore more expensive.