Blue Sapphire is the most well-known and recognizable of the corundum family, which also includes Ruby. Traditionally, people have prized these gems for their celestial blues and violets. However, you can actually find the beautiful September birthstone in any color, except red. Fancy colored sapphires range in all hues such as violet, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and other intermediate hues. Some sapphires can exhibit the phenomenon known as color change, going from bright blue in sunlight or fluorescent lighting, to more of a purple tone under incandescent light. Sapphires can even be gray, black, or brown.

One of the most productive mining regions in the world for sapphires, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos are sources for gem-quality sapphires. Some of the most interesting sapphire colors hail from sapphire mining in Africa. Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, and Madagascar are some of the mine locations. Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are mine locations in Central Asia. As the only source of sapphire in the United States, the mines of Montana have established a reputation of producing stunning gemstones and at a steady rate. Sapphire is the September birthstone and used to celebrate the 5th & 45th wedding anniversary.

Sapphire derives from the Greek word sappheiros, referred to lapis lazuli, an intense blue metamorphic rock. In ancient Greece and Rome, kings and queens were convinced that blue sapphires protected their owners from envy and harm. During the Middle Ages, the clergy wore blue sapphires to symbolize Heaven, and people thought the gem attracted heavenly blessings. Others thought and places, people instilled sapphires with the power to guard chastity, make peace with enemies, influence spirits, and reveal the secrets of the oracles. For centuries, sapphire has been first associated with royalty, then began to personify romance as well. This relationship of sapphires and romance was reinforced in 1981, when Britain’s Prince Charles proposed to Lady Diana Spencer with a blue sapphire engagement ring. Sapphire embodies the qualities of nobility, truth, sincerity, and faithfulness.