September Birthstone: Facts About Sapphire

The September birthstone, sapphire, was thought to guard a person possessing it against evil and poisoning. If a venomous snake will be put into a vessel that was made of sapphire, it was believed that it would die.

THE COLOR OF SAPPHIRE

Sapphire is a form of corundum, the second-hardest mineral. Commonly ranging in colour from light to dark blue, they are found chiefly in placer deposits. 

Sapphire can also be found in a rainbow of other colours, as opposed to the statement that it is only in blue.

FACTS AND FOLKLORE ABOUT SAPPHIRE

• During the 17th century, it was believed that if a person is holding a sapphire, he or she can foretell the future.
• Sapphire is known to comfort a person when in pain.
• Sapphire gets its colours from the trace elements in corundum.
• The rarest type of sapphire is a pinkish-orange variety called padparadscha
• The word sapphire is derived from the Latin and Greek words for “blue”: sapphirus and sappheiros, which may have originally referred to another type of blue stone called Lapis Lazuli.
• The most famous royal sapphire today is the engagement ring given by England’s Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, and now worn by Princess Catherine. It features an 18-carat oval blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds.
• Deep blue sapphires have long been associated with royalty (which likely contributed to the naming of the colour “royal blue”). Royal blue sapphires were often worn by medieval kings, some of whom believed that the gemstones would protect them from their enemies.

HOW TO BUY SAPPHIRE