Diana Bostany sterling silver gold beaded jewelry

Sapphire

Sapphire Gemstone Information

Sapphire is one of the two gem varieties of the species corundum. Although blue is the best known hue, the gem occurs in virtually every spectral hue excepting red. Red corundum is a ruby. Sapphire can also be colorless, gray, and black.

Purple sapphires contain the trace element vanadium and come in a variety of shades. Yellow and green sapphires have traces of iron that gives them their color. Pink sapphires have a trace of the element chromium; sapphires also occur in shades of orange and brown. But it's the salmon-color padparadscha sapphires that often fetch the highest prices - even higher than many of the finest blue sapphires.

Significant sapphire deposits are found in Eastern Australia, Southeast Asia, and Sri Lanka. Sapphire and rubies are often found together in the same area, but one gem is usually more abundant. Sapphire is the birthstone of September.

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