Nowadays, 20% of all new sapphires come from Madagascar. In Italy, small crystals of this precious material are collected in the calcite of Terminillo.

Other sources are Australia, Cambodia, China, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Thailand, the USA (Montana) and Vietnam. Sapphires traditionally come from Sri Lanka and Burma. However, it can also have a heart or baguette cut, especially when it comes to engagement rings. Regardless of the colour, the gemstone is usually sold with an oval or round faceted cut. Also known as “silk”, these rutile inclusions are even more noticeable on a good cut, where they appear as straight, evenly spaced rays. The asterism or “star effect” is caused by needle-like inclusions, so as to form a star on the surface of the gem. Traces of elements such as chromium, iron, titanium are the basis of their shade.Īnother variation is represented by the Star Sapphire. Sapphires with different shades are collectively called “fancy”, or a prefix is added to indicate their colour. However, the colours of this stone vary from black to yellow! Although blue sapphires are the most common, sapphires come in a wide range of colours. The colour of sapphires is determined by inclusions of hematite and rutile. In fact, this gemstone can only be scratched by boron nitride or diamond. It is the only substance of natural origin to have a hardness of level 9 on the Mohs scale, a rating system that goes up to 10 – the value attributed to diamond. Sapphire is a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminum oxide), easily recognised by its bright blue colour. But what is it, where does it comes, and why are we so fascinated by it? Let us explore the splendour of sapphire jewellery together. Today, the precious stone is a refinement that any woman would love to keep in the jewellery box and flaunt on special occasions. In the past, it was believed that the one who owned a sapphire was a good person, loyal and capable of managing command. Sapphire is one of the most eye-catching gemstones used by jewellers for their creations. Sapphires are a promise of faithful love.

Jewellery sapphire