From sapphire skies to sapphire seas, one gemstone is famous for the world’s most beautiful blues. Sapphire is one of the most eye-catching gemstones used by jewellers for their creations. In the past, it was believed that the one who owned a sapphire was a good person, loyal and capable of following commands. Today, the precious stone is a refinement that any woman would love to keep in her jewellery box and flaunt on special occasions.
But how to spot the best sapphire on the market, and not be cheated when it comes to its price and quality? Let’s explore the splendour of sapphire together, and you’ll find all the answers in this video!
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Hi everyone,
I’m Sasha Kareva and on this channel I talk about GEMSTONES. Welcome!
Among the sapphires that have gone down in history is undoubtedly the engagement ring of Lady Diana Spencer: a beautiful piece of white gold, with 14 diamonds and an imposing 12-carat oval-cut blue sapphire in the center. Today, this ring shines on the finger of Kate Middleton, to whom it was given by Prince William as a token of their love and a tribute to his mother.
The symbol of truth, faithfulness and the soul, the gift of a blue sapphire is a promise to be true. That makes sapphire a beautifully meaningful gemstone for an engagement ring. No doubt that’s one of the reasons why natural blue sapphires (and blue sapphire engagement rings) are the most popular colored gemstone choice.
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Sapphire is also one of the most durable gemstones: it’s corundum, with a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, is second only to diamond’s hardness 10.
Sapphire is also tough. But it doesn’t mean that you can wash the dishes with a sapphire ring)). I know, that sometimes you forget take your ring off. Your stone will survive, of course. But if you take care of your blue sapphire, your precious gem will serve your family for hundreds of years.
The color of sapphire is very restful. Like gazing out at the ocean, it makes you feel more peaceful and serene. Is blue your favorite color? You aren’t alone: blue is the most popular color worldwide. That’s why so many people love sapphire.
For sapphire, the intensity of the blue color is more than just beauty - it’s the primary factor in determining value. The ideal stone displays an intense, rich blue without being dark or inky. Stones which are too dark and inky, or too light in color, have less value.
Sapphires come in countless shades of blue. Cornflower, Peacock, Royal and Velvet blues are commonly preferred, because they are so vivid. The premium colour categories are exported the most.
If you are wondering which shade of blue to choose, I have a tip for you. My advice for areas with less sun is to choose lighter colours. Of course, every case and gem is individual, but the popular royal blue color often looks dark, almost black in the cold countries. Navy Blue, Indigo and twilight are the second most popular shades, and others rank based on the taste of collectors and individuals.
My personal choice is peacock and cornflower colors, it looks stunning in any environment.
When you choose a sapphire, always look at it in daylight. In fact, the best light to view the color comes just after sunrise and before sunset. Artificial light will never let you see the true colors of sapphires!
let’s talk about the Prices
Low-quality pieces may be available for a few dollars per carat. Such stones are generally not clean enough to facet. The most expensive blue sapphire ever sold was the 392.52-carat named The Blue Belle Of Asia. It was sold for $17,305,996 at Christie’s Geneva in November 2014.
What we know about this gem, is that it was an untreated Ceylon sapphire, a cushion-cut stone that draws your gaze into the depths of its captivating blue prism.The stone set a world record for the highest price paid at auction for a sapphire!
One more famous blue sapphire is the 22.66-ct. unnamed Kashmir sapphire from India, once owned by James Jerome Hill (He was a Canadian-American railroad director in the 19th century ). This sapphire was sold in 2007 for $135,216/per ct. If we calculate we’ll get the price 3 millions USD for the whole gem. What a good deal!
Today Kashmir sapphires are the most rare and the most expensive among blue sapphires. I won’t be surprised, if at some point the owner of this almost 23 carats blue Kashmir sapphire will ask 3 millions USD per one carat. )
So, now we know that the most expensive are Kashmir sapphires, next will be blue sapphires from Burma. Burmese blue sapphires are also not so easy to find in the market.
The next most popular and the most famous sapphires are Sri-Lankan or Ceylon Blue Sapphires.
Ceylon sapphires are also very beautiful and the price is a bit lower, because this country still mines this gem from different deposits.
Not only deposits, also treatments effect the price. I give you the numbers for nice quality of blue sapphires, the difference in a one thing, had the gem the heat treatment or not.
So, start with a one carat blue sapphire -
Price can range from $ 500 to $1000 for heated gem and from 1000 to 4000$ USD for same 1 carat weight of unheated blue sapphire.
If we speak about 2 carat gems - the price per carat is usually doubled - 1000$ to 2000$ per carat for 2 carat heated blue sapphire and 3000$-4000$ per carat for unheat gem.
Price of masterpieces above 5 carat for heated blue sapphire is about 5000$ USD per carat, for unheat natural blue sapphire can range between $10,000 and $150,000 per carat for exceptionally sized, pure blue sapphires.
Dark, inky blue sapphires come from Australia, China, Vietnam, Laos, Nigeria and a bunch of other localities. The price for these stones will be cheap, and the color, honestly, will be far from vivid blue color. Fine blues of small size have been mined in Montana in United States, they are good for private gem collections.
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One more thing which I want to share is the Phenomena of blue sapphire.
Blue Sapphires may display asterism, the star effect. Fine star sapphires display sharp six-rayed stars well-centered in the middle of the cabochon. Cabochon means simple faceting shape for opaque gems. All parts of the star should be intact and smooth.
Just having a good star does not make a stone valuable. The best pieces have sharp stars against an intense blue body color. It is not so easy to find this magic combination - bright color and a sharp star. But be aware of the synthetic blue sapphires. They are sold everywhere as faceting gems and cabochons.
Synthetic blue sapphires have been produced by the Verneuil process and cost just pennies per carat. Verneuil process was the first commercially successful method of manufacturing synthetic gemstones, developed in the late 1883. Can you imagine? Almost 150 years we have synthetic blue sapphires on the gem market.
Doublets consisting of natural sapphire crowns and synthetic sapphire pavilions are fairly common, particularly in mining areas. Synthetics are also common at the mines, in both rough and cut forms.
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I currently do have a few pieces of blue sapphires on my website, you can check the link in description, and get a better idea on the prices of blue sapphires, as per color and size.
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Before you go, I’d like to share with you a pinch of magic in our video about blue corundums - sapphires.
First of all, blue sapphire is a birthstone of September, so don’t miss it, you still have time to prepare a gift for someone or for yourself with this desirable gem.
Whatever is the reason for your interest in blue sapphires, I wish you to find your best blue sapphire, which will bring you pleasure of their natural beauty!