September’s Birthstone – Sapphire

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September’s Birthstone – Sapphire

Blue Sapphire is a member of the mineral species Corundum, which comes in ever color of the rainbow. The red variety is called Ruby, July’s birthstone. Traditionally only the blue variety is September’s birthstone. This blue gem symbolizes nobility, truth, sincerity, and faithfulness. It has decorated royalty and clergy members for centuries. Sapphire has a hardness of 9 on Mohs scale, and its resistance to scratching makes it ideal for setting in jewelry that will be worn frequently. It is estimated that at least 95% of blue sapphires are treated in some way. Heat-treating and surface diffusion are the most common treatments.

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Corundum

The mineral species corundum comes in ever color of the rainbow. The red and blue varieties are the best-known, Ruby the birthstone for July, and Blue Sapphire September’s birthstone. Corundum has a hardness level of 9 on Mohs scale; its resistance to scratching and durability make it ideal for jewelry that is worn frequently. The other color varieties are called “fancy color sapphires”. the major fancy sapphire categories are padparadscha, pink, purple, orange, yellow, green, colorless, and black. There are also star and color change varieties commonly refered to as phenomenal corundum.

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Colorless sapphire

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Example of black sapphire

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Examples of green sapphire

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Example of pink sapphire

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Color change sapphire, Black star sapphire, and Blue star sapphire

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Example of yellow sapphire

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Example of orange sapphire

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Padparadscha

Padparadscha means “lotus flower” in Sinhalese, the language spoken in Sri Lanka. The color has been compared to the color of salmon, a sunset or the flesh of ripe guava fruit. It usually ranges from a medium pinkish orange to orange-pink color.