SAPPHIRE ENGAGEMENT RING | THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE SAPPHIRE GUIDE

Article by Sumeet Chordia, G.G.

January 10, 2021

THE BIRTH OF SAPPHIRES: ~ 750 MILLION YEAR AGO

A sapphire’s internal characteristics (inclusions) is a magnificent canvas of our planet’s geological environment and history. In 2019, SSEF, a gemological laboratory located in Basel, Switzerland, conducted age-dating tests analyzing zircon crystals inside colored gemstones. They discovered that the first deposits of sapphires likely formed 450 to 750 million years ago.¹ This revelation led the scientists to map corundum-rich deposits in a concentrated region on the Gondwana continent. SSEF's President, Michael Krzemnicki, writes that the "deposits [are] connected to tectonometamorphic events by the collision of eastern and western Gondwana." Today, these regions are famously known as India, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Although formed in proximity, sapphires from Sri Lanka and Madagascar dominate the global market due to their adequate supply and demand.  Additionally, the scientists at SSEF obtained concrete evidence that Burma (Myanmar) and Kashmir sapphires formed during the collision of the Indian and Eurasia plates 10 to 40 million years ago.² And that sapphires from Thailand and Australia crystallized 4 million years ago.³

A BLUE SAPPHIRE’S ALLURE

Blue sapphires have also held a rich legacy for mankind. They are among the most revered jewels, alongside diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and natural saltwater pearls. The precious blue gem captivated monarchs, nobles, and celebrities across regions and throughout history. Additionally, their appearance, rarity, and fables of discovery and mystic powers continue to capture the imagination of astrologers, designers, collectors, and high-end luxury houses, such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston, Graff, and others. Their intriguing journey — from their formation period to the time they appeal to someone special is captured in their natural features and the ingeniousness of artists.

THE PROBLEM

However, choosing a natural (no-heat) or heated sapphire for your engagement ring is a daunting task. While they are exceptionally unique, crystalize in a gamut of colors, showcase a vitreous "glass-like" luster, and exhibit high-resistance to scratching – a 9/10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, it is extremely challenging to find a beautiful natural (unheated/no-heat) or heated stone for an engagement ring.

The difficulty lies in the nature of sapphires and the failure of the global gemstone and jewelry industry to build a universal grading system, like the 4Cs developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) for diamonds. But sapphires are not diamonds and world-renowned gemologists, researchers, and gem laboratories in the United States and Switzerland continue to struggle without a universal grading system for sapphires.

Sapphires are naturally complex — they are a gem variety of the mineral Corundum (Aluminum Oxide), form at shallower depths, in diverse terrains, and around potent elements. Furthermore, the right concentration of specific trace elements must be present and in the right spaces inside the crystal structure to host a beautiful blue. With such conditions, categorization of color and quality of sapphires remains difficult for jewelers and consumers.

Without knowledge and market experience consumers must have complete trust in their jeweler for conveying the characteristics of the gemstone. The arbitrary color and quality grading system does not suffice. In its absence, online, brick-and-mortar jewelers, and gemstone dealers are left to self-categorize precious stones with distinctions such as AAA, AA, or another creative designation. However, there is no standardized color or quality scale for sapphires in the industry. Any existing metric only classifies an organization’s inventory (stock). It does not serve as a tool to compare a stone from one company with another.

While not having a standardized sapphire grading system makes it difficult to compare and compartmentalize them like diamonds, consumers have absolute freedom to interpret beauty with basic gemological knowledge and guidance. A sapphire's beauty is the amalgamation of various factors that you deem important.

SAPPHIRE: THE BEAUTIFUL SAPPHIRE GUIDE

Our rubric, although abecedarian, can help you filter from a range of blue sapphires you've found on the internet or at your local jeweler. Combining these factors will help guide and position one sapphire with another and bring you closer to your beautiful sapphire. Although this is not a scientific or research-based scale it is based on our years of experience within the industry, observing auctions, and trading rare gemstones. We also recognize these metrics will evolve as we learn from customers, gemologists, scientists, and the global jewelry trade.

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¹ Krzemnicki, Dr. Michael S. “Age dating applied as a testing procedure to gemstones and biogenic materials.” IGC Lecture, Nantes, France, 2019.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.

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Next Recommended Reading: Gemstone Origin: Series 1: Introduction