No two are exactly the same; rare and unusual sapphires are almost irreplaceable, even one that is only 1 or 2 carats in size. Sapphires come in all sizes. Specimen grade sapphire can come in huge sizes of thousands of carats, but this material has little or no value at all. The Natural Sapphire Company is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and availability of fine untreated sapphires. In very short detail, an untreated sapphire is one that has been taken from the ground in which it came and faceted.
Nothing at all was done to the stone to alter the natural beauty which only the earth created naturally. These sapphires are exceptionally more rare and valuable. Rarity means that something cannot be replaced easily.
When something is rare and a market demand is present, naturally prices will rise. The market for untreated sapphires has continued to rise as more and more consumers become more aware of the treatment of conventional sapphires in the marketplace. Sapphires of fine quality are in fact very rare. Diamonds, for example, are in almost every type of jewelry, in every jewelry store, and on websites around the world.
The world production and use of diamonds proves that diamonds are not at all rare, and in fact are in extraordinary supply. Prices are held up by a combination of highly inflated profit margins as well as controlled release of supply reserves by the diamond cartels.
Sapphires are mined heavily in gem producing countries, by traditional and mechanical methods. Even with heavy mining the rate of return on fine sapphires is exponentially less than the production and availability of most other gem stones.
For this reason, specifically natural untreated sapphires are a safe investment for retaining and attaining long term value.
Corundum sapphire comes from all over the world. Commercial sapphires are used in industry for abrasive and cutting purposes. Emory paper is one example of how the hardness of a sapphire crystal is used in everyday industry.
Of course the fine gem quality stones are found in very small quantities in very few places. Most notably are the sapphires from Sri Lanka. For thousands of years fine sapphires have been found in this special place. Most of the sapphires that are found in gem producing locations are worthless; and need to be treated to be marketable. Good quality sapphires over 2cts are scarce.
Pure colors that are free of inclusions are very difficult to produce on a consistent basis. Only a handful of fine stones are produced world wide on a daily basis.
The market is far greater than what can be produced and prices continue to rise. This is why natural untreated sapphires are a far better investment when considering making a sizeable stone or jewelry purchase. Blue sapphires are the most popular and sought after type of sapphire. They have been the prized possessions of emperors, kings, queens and collectors for thousands of years. Still today it is the most well known and in demand colored gemstone.
Royalty give sapphires over diamonds as engagement rings because they are known to be far rarer than diamonds.
Blue sapphires come in various hues from very light pale baby blue to a very rich royal blue. A sapphire that is black should not be called a blue sapphire; this is a commercial quality stone. These should be classified differently and priced accordingly. Because of this we do not describe our blue sapphires using this term in most cases. The blue color in a blue sapphire comes from the mineral titanium that is within the crystal.
The higher concentrations of titanium in the sapphire, the more color saturation. Too much color saturation can create a dull or overly dark effect in the blue sapphire which is not desirable and lowers the price of the stone. Most commercial quality sapphires are in fact not blue but black in color. These should not be called blue sapphires as they do not have any blue color or translucency.
These sapphires are very inexpensive. Sapphires come from many places around the world but few locations produce fine qualities. The most beautiful sapphires come from the same countries as they have for thousands of years.
Only a few new deposits have been discovered in recent times. The quantity and quality of blue sapphires coming from Sri Lanka is only rivaled by new deposits found in Madagascar. The sapphires from Madagascar are in many cases almost indistinguishable against sapphires from Sri Lanka. Color tone and internal crystal characteristics of Madagascar and Ceylon sapphires are almost identical in most cases.
The prices for blue sapphires from both countries are similar. Burma now called Myanmar since gaining independence from the British is another long time producing country of fine blue sapphires. Usually Burmese sapphires are described as royal blue, typically on the darker side of royal blue.
Many gemologists, retailers, auctioneers, and other stone houses will talk very highly of Burmese sapphires being the very best quality sapphires; we do not necessarily agree that this is true and fair. Each sapphire should be graded by its visual appearance for sheer beauty.
Burma does produce excellent stones, usually in smaller quantities but larger sizes. At the Natural Sapphire Company we do not believe that origin is a reliable factor worth paying for in sapphires. With our extensive experience specializing in natural untreated sapphires we urge that pure natural beauty remain the absolute priority. Grading a sapphire o norigin is not a reliable science.
Inclusion types associated with Madagascar also are seen in Kashmir sapphires. Ceylon sapphires very often have identical inclusion types found in Burmese sapphires. Madagascar and Sri Lanka have almost all the same characteristics.
Our experience with so many incorrect origin identifications from the laboratories have resulted in our company only buying stones that are:. We do state the origin of our sapphires based on where we purchase the material, but it is not a guarantee that the stone is in fact from that location.
To prove that reputable gem labs have a very hard time determining origin, we will be adding examples of contradicting results on the same sapphire.
Click here to see examples. The stones were in most cases exceptionally fine quality. For this reason the prices for Kashmir sapphires have been wildly valued. Prices can be 10 times the cost of a comparable blue sapphire from another country.
Stones from Madagascar are very often described to look like Kashmir quality. Many stones are thought to be graded incorrectly by the laboratories as Kashmir sapphires, but actually come from Madagascar or even Sri Lanka.
Early 19th century jewelry and Kashmir sapphires played a large role together, and these stones are very beautiful indeed. We highly recommend Madagascar sapphires, as they can look identical to proven Kashmir sapphires. Of course true Kashmir sapphires exist and are documented in famous jewelry. But when a fine velvety Kashmir and fine velvety Madagascar sapphire are put side by side it can be very difficult to determine which is finer.
They are generally viable for commercial jewelry use only. They do produce fine rare sapphires on occasion that can be expensive, but this is not reliable production. Most blue sapphires coming from these locations normally have secondary color tones and need to be treated to be saleable. First, natural untreated blue sapphires are in a class of their own. Either a sapphire is treated or it is not. This is the first consideration in determining value. There are so many types of treatments and alterations of sapphires that it is almost impossible to list them all.
Prices for treated sapphires fluctuate and are not very consistent so it is impossible to put reliable value on them Please refer to our section on Treatments of Sapphires to see the extraordinary differences between natural and treated sapphires. The second consideration in evaluating a blue sapphire is sheer beauty. In most cases beauty is agreeable from one person to the next.
Something stunningly attractive will always hold value and be in demand. A slight preference in color tone is normal from one person to the next. Normally these personal taste preferences should not be seen as better or worse. It is possible to lean towards a blue sapphire that is slightly darker in color or lighter in color depending on individual appeal. You must love what you buy and it must have value. Uniform color, light reflection and clarity are all important in grading quality and price of sapphires.
Prices of blue sapphires are dependant on whether they are treated or untreated, their color tone, saturation, the clarity of the sapphire, and size. Loose sapphires are priced by the quality of the stone multiplied by the carat ct. Just as you would purchase fine fruit at a higher price per pound over lower quality fruit, sapphires are priced the same. The finer the material the more it will cost per carat. A seasoned shopper of apples in a grocery store can tell you the high and low end range of apples by the pound, as can a seasoned shopper and buyer in sapphires.
Small light blue sapphires approx. Price ranges for larger stones have a comparable price spread, so there is a very large price range for similar sized stones with very different color, clarity and cutting properties.
It is important that all of these determining factors are understandable so that pricing makes sense. As with most things, the more you learn the more comfortable and secure you will feel in making an informed decision when purchasing your sapphire jewelry.
Until this time, fine pink sapphires were exceptionally rare and only found in a few locations in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Burma. The recent find of fantastic quality and quantity in Southern Madagascar has allowed the popularity to explode. Madagascar pink sapphires come in a full range of color tone from a very pale baby pink to a vivid almost magenta intense pink.
Demand for the full tone spectrum is now equal. Madagascar is truly the leader of pink sapphires today. The quantity and quality are unrivaled by any other source. Small sapphires under 1ct size are common, with most crystals having good clarity and uniform color.
This makes it easy to identify a classic color associated with most Madagascar sapphires. Most of these pink sapphires have a medium vibrant pink color with an almost electric light reflection property. For the first time, this unique color in sapphires is available in reasonably reliable supply. Most of these sapphires come out of the ground with good clarity as well, leaving the customary extreme heat treating to a minimum.
But the color of these pink sapphires can have a secondary purplish color tone that can be slightly reduced by low temperature heating. There is great amount of detail of natural vs. Pink sapphires from Madagascar are treated in a far different manner than the traditional long term, high temperature heating of blue and yellow sapphires.
Blue and yellow sapphires are heated at extreme temperatures for a long period days at up to C with fluxes and other coloration additives. Madagascar pink sapphires, however, are heated at a temperature far, far lower C , where almost no internal characteristics of the stone are altered.
Determining if a sapphire has been heated is normally a simple task done by a trained gemologist who is familiar with inclusions within sapphires. When sapphires are heated at high temperatures the internal inclusions change drastically. Madagascar pink sapphires are heated for as little as five minutes at low temperatures where no internal inclusions are affected.
Because no internal inclusions are affected it becomes VERY difficult to determine if a pink sapphire has been heated. High tech equipment can be used to detect trace mineral content changes within the stone. This type of equipment is very costly and only used by high quality laboratories. It is still a new science and in many cases it can be impossible to determine if a pink sapphire from Madagascar has been heated.
We have given multiple laboratories the same exact Madagascar pink sapphire for testing to determine if it had been heated or not. In many cases we were given conflicting results on the same stone from different laboratories. One lab would determine that the pink sapphire was heated and the other would determine it had not been heated.
The reputable labs do an excellent job in most cases, but results on heating vs. The examples above show that the same stone can receive completely different reports from two highly respected labs.
The message here is that it is extremely difficult to determine if Padparadscha and Pink Sapphires have been exposed to low temperature heat treatments because so little change occurs in the stone. Image source, Mr Gamage. Related Topics. Published 2 July. Published 28 June. Published 26 June. Published 10 June. Ancient History Sapphire has been a royal gem since the beginning of the written word and probably long before that.
Renaissance and Enlightenment The devotion and specialization of Renaissance lapidaries and goldsmiths resulted in new styles, often based on the classical period. The Greeks and Romans wore Sri Lankan stones and they are aptly described by writers from the period. Production has been relatively steady and constant throughout history. All colors of the rainbow were mined except for vivid green. The deposits were heavily worked during the 20th century and little is being produced today.
A second important deposit was found near Kanchanaburi where, in , blue sapphires were found. The deposits were worked heavily during the 20th century and are reported to be virtually exhausted. By the time the first Europeans traveled to Burma, established gem mining was well underway. Although famous for its rubies, Burma has produced some fine sapphires too. Colorless to deep blue as well as light yellow stones have been found.
These are alluvial deposits only. Australian sapphire from Anakie was in major production prior to the Russian revolution with Europeans being the big consumers. The Australian fields have produced a substantial portion of the sapphires set in jewelry in the world.
Minute particles of exsolved rutile give the stones from NW India their velvety texture. Good stones from this locality are extremely rare and production has been very limited. Climate, altitude, isolation, and wars have made a steady production very hard to establish.
The majority of production in the region took place in the last decade of the 20th century and continues to the present day. All colors of sapphires are found on this enormous island, primarily mined from alluvial deposits. Kunz, examined the stones and identified them as sapphires of very high quality.
These beautiful Yogo sapphires consisting mainly of small blue stones were prospected primarily in the first few decades of the 20th century.
The Umba river deposit is comprised of beautiful fancy colors. In pastel colored stones were discovered in Songea and since , deposits in Tunduru have been worked, bringing the world more blues, purples, pinks, and greens. RWH pub, Butterworth-Heinemann; 4th edition January Further Resources.
Sapphire March-April , Sapphire the ct. Star of India pictured, p. Summer , A Substitute for Star Sapphires, p. Winter , p. Spring , p. Winter , The Stuart Sapphire, p. Edwards Sapphire, p. Famous star sapphires, like the Australia was a significant source of sapphires until deposits were discovered in Madagascar during the s. Madagascar now leads the world in sapphire gemstone production.
In , French chemist Auguste Verneuil developed a process to make synthetic sapphire.
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