A lot of people will be surprised to learn that dreamy blue gemstone, sapphire, is related to ruby. Both are varieties of the mineral corundum. The crystalline structure and chemical composition of these gemstones are identical.
What changes their identities are the impurities in the mineral corundum, which results in either an amazingly red gemstone (ruby) or a powerfully blue gem (sapphire). Take note that it only takes trace amounts of impurities (usually other elements or minerals) to change the color and other visual properties of a given crystal.
Gem corundum is impressive because it can metamorphose visually with the smallest inclusions of impurities. Gem corundum can transform into orange, purple, and even yellow gems depending on what nature has included in the crystalline structure.
When blue corundum has sufficient color saturation, hue, and depth, they are called fancy sapphires. When gem corundum doesn’t have any impurities inside, it is colorless.
Table of Contents
What is sapphire?
Iron and titanium and the interaction of these two elements are responsible for creating sapphires.
Gem corundum that is called sapphire, has a color spectrum ranging from very light blues to very dark and deep blues.
In the global market, sapphires that have the deepest color saturation that make them look almost purplish are considered top-quality fancy sapphires, and they command the highest prices once set in jewelry or when sold as loose stones.
When a piece of sapphire is different, the variation in the color precedes the name of the gemstone. So if a part of sapphire is greenish, it shall be called green sapphire and not just sapphire. This helps categorize the gems, and this also reduces confusion when you are buying sapphire in a store or online. Take note that there is a dazzling array of sapphires, including violet sapphires and pink sapphires.
How is sapphire made?
Sapphire is mined in various regions, including Pakistan, Australia, and China. Sapphire is an incredibly popular gemstone, and demand is high for commercial-grade sapphire around the world. It is subjected to different fracture-filling methods to make the final product more appealing and flawless to buyers. While there is nothing wrong with buying a sapphire or gemstone that has been processed to remove impurities, buyers should be informed what kinds of treatments have been used to produce the current sapphire in front of the buyer.
Large impurities and multiple treatments can harm the value of the sapphire in questions.
Spectacular heat treatment refers to heating a sapphire to improve color saturation. This is sometimes done to white or yellowish gem corundum. At the end of the procedure, the corundum turns blue, and it becomes transparent.
Lattice diffusion, on the other hand, expands the crystalline structure of the sapphire as another material is heated to release metallic ions. The metallic ions disperse within the crystalline structure of the sapphire and stay there when the gemstone cools down.
The gem corundum’s dimensions are altered in this manner, and the resulting alteration or defect to the gemstone also changes how light interacts with the inner structure of the gemstone.
And finally, we have beryllium diffusion. Beryllium is a rare element that can be used to create different color variations in gem corundum. Tints of yellow, pink, and orange can be produced in sapphire.
This treatment is considered an advanced procedure and can be difficult to detect even with a professional jeweler around. Some people in the jewelry industry believe that this type of treatment disqualifies gem corundum from being called a sapphire, as sapphires with different kinds of colors already occur naturally in nature.
Sapphire meaning and properties
Sapphire is the birthstone for people born in September, and it is also linked to the following zodiac signs: Sagittarius, Virgo, and Libra. The home planet of Sapphire is the planet Saturn, and it is a water gemstone as well.
The vibrational frequency of sapphire is number two, and it comes in a variety of colors from black to blue to yellow. Sapphire is one of the gemstones that can help you release your creative expression.
So if you feel that your creativity has been waning for years and you cannot pursue your passions precisely because your creativeness has dwindled to almost nothing, it would be a great idea to use sapphire or combine its powers with similar gemstones that can help repower your natural creative center.
Sapphire is also associated with intuition, or the ability to use the spiritual wisdom of the Source to make the right decisions in life. As such, it also helps people refocus and center themselves in activities like meditation.
If you have never tried meditation before, it works much more effectively when you practice it alongside energy healing, which necessitates the use of gemstones as conduits for natural spiritual energies from the Source and the earth.
Who should wear a sapphire?
Sapphire can be worn by people who want more luck, optimism, and wisdom in their lives. This gem is also excellent for helping people establish better social links or friendships with people.
It can do this by enhancing a person’s friendliness or natural propensity to have friends in the first place. This is something that does not naturally occur to all people, so it’s something that you can build slowly over time with the help of healing stone.
Different kinds of sapphires bring slightly different benefits to the table. For example, black sapphire is associated with the base chakra and works at vibrational frequency number four.
It is explicitly used as a protective warding stone and is best used for grounding and removing negative energies from the body.
Black sapphire can also be used to boost one’s self-confidence and improve one’s ability to use intuition in all situations. Green sapphire, on the other hand, is known as the sapphire of fidelity, and it focuses specifically on the heart chakra. It helps develop loyalty in relationships, and also integrity in different situations.
