STONE
Sapphire
Gem corundum other than ruby; blue is the best-known colour, while other colours are called fancy sapphire.
- Typical colour
- Blue and every non-red gem colour
- Also known as
- Сапфир
- Birthstone
- September A modern tradition, not a property of the stone. GIA
FOUND IN TAJIKISTAN
Sapphire is documented together with ruby at the Snezhnoe deposit in the Kukurt district, Eastern Pamir.
Rubies and Sapphires from Snezhnoe, Tajikistan (Sorokina et al., 2015)WHAT IT IS MADE OF
Mineral science
Physical and optical properties belong to the mineral species; see the mineral page for the full sourced profile.
What causes the colour
Traces of iron and titanium — only a few hundredths of a percent — turn corundum blue; more iron gives a darker blue. Chromium produces pink sapphire. Sapphire also occurs in violet, green, yellow, orange, purple, grey, black and brown.
Look-alikes and how to tell them apart
Colourless sapphire was once a popular diamond imitation. Laboratory-grown sapphire is durable enough to be used for supermarket-scanner and spacecraft windows.
Compare with its look-alikesHistory and names
Intensely saturated, velvety sapphires from Kashmir set the standard for blue. The name of the padparadscha variety comes from the Sinhalese word for lotus blossom. Discoveries in East Africa and Madagascar in the 1990s, alongside traditional sources such as Sri Lanka, brought fancy-coloured sapphires wide recognition.
COLLECTION
Study views
SOURCE
GIA Gem Encyclopedia — Sapphire