Its beauty, magnificent colours, its transparency but also its resistance and permanence are characteristics which gemstone lovers and experts assign to this gemstone – however, this does not only apply to blue Sapphire as will be pointed out later on. Sapphire belongs to the corundum group which is set apart from other gemstones by their very good hardness (Grade 9 on the Mohs’ scale). They are second in hardness to diamonds only, and diamonds represent the hardest mineral on Earth! Because of their good harness, sapphires are easy to care for as gemstones and demand from their wearers only the usual and normal care.
The corundum group consists of pure aluminium oxide, which a long time ago was caused to crystallise into beautiful and splendid gemstones by the pressure and heat in the depths of the ground. Small proportions of other elements, mainly iron and chrome, are responsible for the resulting colours and make the basically white crystals a blue, red, yellow, pink or greenish Sapphire. But this dies not necessarily imply that any corundum is a sapphire. Which stone may be termed a Sapphire – this is a question which for centuries has fuelled heated discussions among experts. Finally agreement was achieved to call ruby-red Sapphires "Rubies”, and all other colours "Sapphires".
If we talk about Sapphires, most gemstone lovers will immediately think of a velvety blue. It is an adaptable colour which is attractive on many people. A blue Sapphire is optimally suited to a well-balanced style of life, where reliability is joined with spirit, and where there is an openness for new ideas and influences – just like the woman wearing it. The fact that this beautiful gemstone does also exist in many other colours was for a long time an piece of information known to insiders only. In the gemstone trade any non-blue Sapphire is termed "fancy”. And to clear up matters the colour denominations are also used, so that when talking about fancy Sapphires, we talk about yellow, purple, pink, green or white Sapphire, etc. Fancy sapphires are the epitome of individualism, the perfect choice for women who love unique coloured gemstone jewellery. These Sapphires exist in a charming variety of designs - set in rings, as pendants or earrings, as solitary stones, in elegant line-ups or as sparkling pavée.
But there are even more surprises about Sapphire: for example, there is an orange colour variety with a fine pinkish undertone, which has been given the poetic name ”Padparadsha”, meaning "lotus flower”. Another rarity are the star Sapphires. These are stone cut in half-dome shape displaying a star-shaped light phenomenon, which seems to dance magically across the stone’s surface when the Sapphire is moved. There exist rumours about gemstone lovers who have forever and truly lost their hearts to these sapphire rarities – but then, permanence and loyalty come along with these stones.