From Napoléon’s custom engagement ring for Joséphine to Britain’s Prince Charles blue sapphire engagement ring to Princess Diana, sapphires have been used to bind and commemorate people and events for centuries. For her coronation, Queen Elizabeth II wore the famous “Stuart Sapphire” in her crown. More recently, Princess Diana’s oval blue sapphire with a white diamond halo became known the world over! Learn more about what makes sapphires, birthstone for September birthdays, so special in our latest Gem Story below!
As summer skies give way to cooler temperatures, September birthdays enjoy Sapphire as their birthstone. Sapphire is a widely misunderstood stone, but a beautiful and versatile gemstone with a durability surpassed only by diamonds.
First, let’s talk about the nomenclature for sapphire. Sapphire is the gemology name for corundum. Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al 2O3) typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium and chromium. It commonly forms hexagonal, barrel-shaped prisms that taper at both ends or as thin tabular hexagonal plates. If that’s too, “Illuminerdi” for you, we can keep it simple. Red corundum is called ruby, blue corundum is called sapphire, and all other colors are called fancy sapphires. Those of you with September birthdays aren’t limited to just blue–sapphire comes in every color!
At 9.0 on the Mohs scale of hardness, sapphire can scratch just about everything under the sun, other than diamonds. It can withstand many years of daily wear, making it ideally suited for custom engagement rings and wedding rings.
In the late 1800’s, super-nerds (a term of endearment, I assure you!) figured out how to create corundum crystals in laboratories, which gave way to a marketplace flooded with lab-grown sapphires, sometimes sold as such and other times, used to fool consumers. The FTC requires that lab-grown gems be disclosed to the purchaser, but increasingly subtle methods are used to insert these “fake” stones into the supply chain.
Adding an additional complication, methods to “fill” inferior material with lead glass or other colored resins to mask imperfections have been developed. The resulting stones are technically “manmade,” and the FTC requires disclosure of these treatments as well.
The only treatment that is ubiquitous and acceptable for our purposes is heating, which we disclose when we have a heated stone. All other modifications, whether chemical or mechanical, disqualify a stone for our use.
According to gem lore, sapphire symbolizes nobility, truth, sincerity, and faithfulness. In fact, in the Bible, it is stated that the ten commandments were carved into tablets made of sapphire!
Traditionally, people associate sapphire with the color blue, but it actually comes in all colors, including dazzling pinks, purples, oranges, and more. All colors are durable and lovely.
Much of the world’s sapphires come from Kashmir, Burma, and Ceylon….however, here in the United States, beautiful sapphires can be found in Montana. Many of our clients love having a domestic option for a gem quality stone with the durability and beauty for custom engagement rings.
What can we make for your September-born loved one?
Let us know when you visit our custom jewelry studio, located in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis, MN.
