Sapphires

Sapphires are members of the Corundum family. The primary colours for Corundum are blue and ruby red, but the ruby red variety are not considered Sapphires but are Rubies.

Other colours for Sapphires are violet, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, these would be considered “Fancy Sapphires”. They can also have a mix of various hues and would then be called a “Parti-Sapphire”. Some Sapphires when cut into cabochons can display a star that radiates across the gem.

Corundum is a 9 out of 10 on the MOHS hardness scale and is also considered a very tough gem, does not chip easily.

Sapphire can undergo various treatments to increase the clarity or change the colour of the stone. Heating is the most common to change both the clarity and the colour of the gem. The other is diffusion that is a heat and chemical treatment that generally only changes the colour of the outer layer of the stone.