Stunning bicolour sapphire, Īnd yet another unique group is the colour-change sapphire. These special gems are actually "phenomenal" stones. Right: bicolour or parti-colour Australian sapphire, John Dyer Gems. ![]() Left : bicolour Ceylon sapphire, Finewater Gems They can come with two different colours - the bicolour sapphires - or with more colours even. Then there are what is called parti-coloured sapphires. These are special stones that have different colours within the same sapphire. By that, what is meant in the trade is all the coloured sapphires except the blue ones. For instance, you may come across the term fancy sapphires. There are some other ways gem dealers and jewellers use to classify sapphires. So, instead say: blue sapphire, pink, purple, orange sapphire, etc. Just so the vendor knows for sure which colour from the sapphire colour box you’re referring to! Many people talk of simply “sapphire”. And although jewellers or gem dealers will understand that you probably mean the blue sapphire by that, it’s better to always add the colour pre-fix in front. One simple buying tip for the interested buyer But don’t get your hopes up too high as… they’re quite rare these days! More rare than diamonds actually (though diamonds do remain more expensive… but I’ll save that confusion for another post □). And in recent times, have been making a comeback - as they are beautiful, have great brilliance and are a less expensive diamond alternative. In its purest state, corundum is colourless or white. So these gemstones don’t have any of those trace elements that normally cause the gem’s colour.įun Fact: Colourless sapphires were once popular diamond imitations. The more iron the corundum contains though, the darker the blue will be and the less attractive it becomes… Interestingly enough, you only need a few hundredths of a percent of iron and titanium to cause the colour. And in blue sapphire, the trace elements that cause its blue colour are iron and titanium. In ruby and pink sapphire, the trace element responsible for the colours red and pink is chromium. Now most corundum contains “trace elements”. That type of 'colour causing' elements is also called the “trace elements”. ![]() It is those last two elements of iron and titanium that are responsible for the colour blue. Where does the gem get its blue colour from?Īs I described before, blue sapphire consists of the chemical components of aluminum oxide plus the chemical components of iron and titanium. The blue sapphire, the pink sapphire, green sapphire, white (or colourless) sapphire, yellow, orange, purple, the pink-orange variety (so wonderful it deserves its own post.), violet and some mixes in between.īut a red sapphire? Nope, that doesn’t exist. There is more than the blue sapphire though that one has a special place in stone heaven! Some of the colourful varieties in the sapphire gang are: ![]() In fact, sapphire can come in a variety of beautiful colours. When corundum comes in any colour than red, we call it a sapphire and we add the colour prefix in front of it. And in case you didn’t know it yet, sapphire and ruby actually belong to that same family of corundum! When corundum is red, it’s called a ruby. It consists of the chemical components of aluminum oxide plus the chemical components of iron and titanium. KNOW YOUR STONES What is a blue sapphire?įor those curious to discover what a blue sapphire is actually made of, what gives the stone its famed celestial blue colour and the right thing to say when buying your sapphire, this post is for you.īlue sapphire is the blue gem variety of corundum.
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