It wasn’t until I started working here that I found out Sapphires come in colors other than shades of blue.  Funny huh?  But I’d like to think I’m not the only one who has had this common misconception.  I feel lucky now that I know this little fact and now just want to spread the word!  All you gem buffs out there are probably getting a good kick out of my excitement, but I’d like to share with you a little more of my newfound knowledge about the Sapphire.

In doing my research, it looks as if what is considered to be the “higher-ended” sapphires on the market today come from Australia, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.  And each place yields a Sapphire from a different mother rock.  Burma Sapphires come from pegmatite, Sri Lanka Sapphires from limestone, and Sapphires from basalt come from Australia and Thailand.   The most desired sapphires used to come from Kashmir, but with the digging and panning going on since the 1880s, most of the deposits have been worked out.  What you find on the market today as a Kashmir Sapphire has actually probably come from Burma or Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has some of the best 
cornflower to “Kashmir” blues in the market today. Another thing I’ve wondered is what exactly is the difference between a red Sapphire and a Ruby?  In reality, there is no distinct difference between the two, with exception to the unique color combination found in Rubies.  While Sapphires can come in all shades of light red, pink, and violet, the Ruby has the perfect blend of red and violet, which makes the gem a category of its own.  While both stones are the mineral corundum, the required color pigments differ between Iron for Sapphires and Chromium for Rubies.

As for buying Sapphires in the gem market, one word of advice I would give (I may be inexperienced but I still can offer a suggestion right?) is to be very vigilant.  Sapphires can be easily confused with other gems and some sellers may take advantage of that.  You want to make sure you’re getting a Sapphire and not something that can be easily mistaken for a sapphire like Spinel, Tanzanite, and synthetics.