Blue sapphires, blue star sapphires, buy sapphires, Ceylon sapphires, sapphires
gems, sapphires necklace, gemstone, loose sapphires, Myanmar sapphires, natural
sapphires, sapphires earrings
Sapphire are beautiful precious
stones with a blue color spectrum
from the light blue of a
fresh cornflower to the very deep mysterious deep blue of
the deep ocean. But there are also sapphire with
other colors, more on this below.
Myanmar - Burma was one of the
major sources of high quality sapphire in the past but now
other producers are taking over in particular Madagascar
with the help of companies from Thailand who usually
used Myanmar - Burma sapphire but because of the political
situation in Myanmar no one is investing anything
anymore into new production facilities for sapphire mining in Myanmar and the
supply dries up slowly.
Variants of
Sapphire are
-
Pink Sapphires, Blue sapphires and
Yellow Sapphires are found in
Thailand and East Africa. They are
next to diamond in hardness and
therefore resistant to wear.
Australia is the largest producer of
blue and golden sapphires. Non-blue
sapphires are White Sapphires or
Golden Sapphires.
The largest
sapphire known was 950 carats from
Myanmar - Burma. The largest in Australia was
886 carats from Queensland in 1934.
There are star sapphires and star
rubies found which contain fine fibre crystals giving star effect
when cut in en cabochon.
Madagascar is in the grip of a
sapphire
rush that has led
thousands of poor farmers to
abandon their fields to search for
sapphire.
People
from all over the
country have flocked to the
south, around Sakaraha and Ilakaka,
which have been transformed from
tiny settlements to Wild
West-style frontier towns.
`It's
phenomenal,' says Dr Koto
Bernard, head of the Sakaraha
office of the global environment
agency WWF. `The town of
Sakaraha has completely changed
in the space of a year.'
No-one knows the extent of the
gem deposits in the region,
where savannah and red earth
conceal rich reserves of
sapphires in yellow, pink and
blue.
Informal estimates put the
amount circulating in the
precious-stone market each day
at more than $1.4 million: a
staggering sum in a country that
had a gross domestic product in
1998 of $234 per person.
Environmental and social groups
have raised concerns about the
safety of those involved.
Sapphire and Diamond Ring
Deep blue Sapphire
Digging is largely unregulated
and done by hand by groups of
people who scoop out holes
ten metres or more in depth,
sifting the earth ii1 water in
order to reveal gems. They say
the work is hazardous, with a
constant risk of tunnel
collapses.
Another cause for concern is
the influx of professional gem
dealers from countries such as
Sri Lanka and Thailand. Israel,
a former student who acts as an
intermediary between the diggers
and the merchants, says it is
hard for miners to secure good
rates for their gems. `The
problem is the prices,' he says.
`All the foreigners buy as they
like.'
Sapphires have brought with them
social difficulties, with both
students and their teachers
leaving schools to hunt for
gems. The stones offer people
the prospect of swapping lives
of agricultural subsistence for
wealth beyond their wildest
imaginings. Despite government promises to
crack down on sapphire
dealers,
as an interpreter to a group of
Thai businessmen, puts it: `It's
the sapphires that rule.'
Finest gemstones like royal blue sapphire,
deep blue sapphire cut and
facetted
colors available: white, pink, blue, pastel -
mixed,
sizes: 2 mm up, calibrated
Diamond Sapphire
Wedding Band
A diamond
sapphire wedding
band is a great idea
for that special
once in a lifetime
occasion.
It is important then
to ensure that you
get just the right
diamond sapphire
wedding band and
that you get value
for your money.
Here are some
pointers to help you
select the right
wedding band and pay
the right price too!
Firstly it is a good
idea to know what
your budget is. 2
months salary is
considered a good
benchmark for how
much to spend
although, depending
on your financial
circumstances this
may vary of course.
Pick a good
dealer. One who
has some experience
in diamond sapphire
rings and who is
also prepared to
spend some time with
you and help you
select something
suitable.
The diamond's
and sapphire should
all come clearly
detailed with
certificates to
show exactly what
the quality of the
stones are. The
weight in carats as
well as the cut,
clarity and color
should all be
clearly explained
for both the
diamonds and the
sapphire.
Sapphires are
traditionally blue
but can come in a
number of other
colors. The red ones
are known as rubies
of course.
When buying online
ensure the dealer
has a returns
policy. When you get
a ring home it can
look quite different
to on the screen and
in natural light
diamonds and
sapphires can look
quite a different
color altogether.
The important point
is, is it the color
you want? If not
then it should be
returned.
Likewise in a
jewelers shop ensure
you are able to
see the jewellery in
natural light
and not just in the
bright lights of the
store. These are
carefully designed
to show off all gems
to their best
advantage but how
they look in natural
light is important
too as that is where
one normally sees
them.
Mostly it is using a
bit of common sense
and some patient due
diligence to ensure
that you get what
you want and not
accepting something
less.
Provided you do the
above then you will
go along way to
getting the diamond
sapphire wedding
band of your dreams.
Permission
to
use
this
article
is
granted
provided
the
link
to
Price
of
Diamonds
is
included.,
Author Michael
Moore
The Padparadscha - The Best of the Non Blue Sapphires
The short story is that the most prized of the non blue sapphires or the “fancy” sapphires is called the Padparadscha which gets its name form the lotus flower. Its colouring is a blend of pink and orange. These stones are rare and have a distinct even arrangement of the colours throughout. The colours are evenly spread throughout the stone but if you view it from the side and the
stones are be separated then this is just a fancy sapphire rather than a true padparadscha.
The longer story is more complex and the
color identity is
not as
easy as
most
writers
discuss.It seems that people who research this thoroughly suggest that the colouring
is also
like a
tropical
sunset
Experts suggest that even the term padparadscha is misunderstood and perhaps should not be used for what is now commonly understood by the term. The answer is to trust your eyes and trust your vendor after taking the steps to make sure that you actually can trust him or her.
The gem experts suggest
that a high quality
Padparadscha will be
untreated, eye clean, that
is having no inclusions
visible to the naked eye,
will have a blend of pink
and orange, and will be best
cut as a round stone. They
will come from Ceylon.
They are best viewed in
daylight or fluorescent
light rather than
incandescent. The lesser
quality stones will most
likely be heat treated to
improve their overall
quality as only the very
best are untreated. They may
also come from other
countries such as Vietnam
and Africa and even
Australia. There are also
synthetic padparadscha
stones.
They are strong stones
and can be made into any
kind of jewellery even engagement
rings. Author Gary
Hocking makes custom jewellery
specializing in Australian opals. He
has his own website
www.jewelleryexpress.com.au
Feel free to use this article as
long as you keep the bio and the
live link to his website.
Madagascar sapphire mining
or childhood underground
In the mines of
Madagascar thousands of
children dig after
Sapphires, some of the
workers are not even six
years old.
The boy in the right
picture is 14 years old,
he works in a sapphire mine
at Manombo in Madagascar
every day since 2 years now.
He sleeps outdoor and from
six clock in the morning
until early evening he pulls
bags after bag up the deep
hole his uncle digged,
twelve hours a day.
For lunch he eat yams or
cassava, but not every day,
others have nothing to eat
at all. On ropes, the mine
children move down the hole
to dig the sand, bring up
the sand and gravel from
which the sapphires are
sifted.
At Madagascar two-thirds
of the population live below
the poverty line. The
large Sapphire deposits in
the south of Africa's Island
state attracts kids and
others to try to get a bit
from the "cake".
According to an official
study in 2006, about 19,000
children worked in the mines
in this region. In
Madagascar, officially,
young people are allowed to
work only if they are 15
years old, but no one cares.
Some some kids in the mine
are even only six years old.
It is important then
to ensure that you
get just the right
diamond sapphire
wedding band and
that you get value
for your money.
