About Sapphires

The name sapphire comes from the Greek word “Sappheiros”, which means “precious stone” and also from the latin word “sapphirus”, meaning blue. Sapphires turn out blue when the sapphire crystal grows in the presence of titanium. There are many shades of blue sapphire. The lighter colours, often from Sri Lanka, are usual described as "cornflower" or Ceylon sapphire. The darker colours are often described as Kashmiri, as the best of these stones come from Kashmir. Montana sapphires (also a nod to origin) tend to be dark blue with a hint of green. 

Sapphire is the birthstone for September, and the traditional gift for celebrating 45th and 65th wedding anniversaries and birthdays. In ancient lore, sapphire was thought to be a talisman that would protect the wearer against evil spirits and creatures of the night. There are lots of famous sapphires, with Princess Diana (now Kate's) engagement ring being perhaps the most famous.

Gemmological Notes

With a hardness of 9 on the Mohs’ scale of hardness, sapphires are relatively durable. They are also relatively tough and easy to keep clean. While a sapphire worn every day for years is likely to show wear and tear along the facet edges and do break occasionally, sapphires (including rubies) are among the few gemstones suitable for use in engagement rings like this custom-made radiant sapphire engagement ring.