Kashmir blue sapphires are known to have a velvety or sleepy quality that is very desirable. Most experts would consider these gemstones to be the benchmark of both color and overall quality for blue sapphires.
Blue Sapphires
Color has the greatest influence on a sapphire's value, and preferred sapphires have strong to vivid color saturation. The most valued blue sapphires are velvety blue to violetish blue, in medium to medium-dark tones. Sapphires with these qualities command the highest prices per carat.
However, natural sapphires come in almost every color of the rainbow including pink, rose, violet, yellow, orange, green, blue-green, or white (colorless). The special color combination of pink-orange or orange-pink is known as Padparadscha sapphire, the rarest sapphire color, and a special rarity.
Kashmir Sapphire; Kashmir sapphires are widely considered to be the most valuable and desirable sapphires in the world. They are named after the region of Kashmir, where they were first discovered in 1881. Kashmir sapphires are known for their rich, velvety blue colour and their exceptional clarity.
Remember these 4 steps when looking for a good sapphire: choose “juicy”, even color; no glaring inclusions or visible “junk”; a well-proportioned cut appropriate for sapphire; and lastly carat size, which will be determined by your budget.
Though sapphires are rarer than diamonds, they are often a more affordable diamond alternative or accent. The brilliance, durability and timelessness of diamonds keeps them as the more expensive of these two gems.
Ruby: Untreated natural rubies are extremely rare. They are actually significantly rarer than sapphires, which is why they are even more expensive. Emerald: Like sapphires and rubies, emeralds are among the rarest of all gemstones. They are rarer than sapphires but not quite as rare as rubies.
Price & Value
Pink sapphires are rarer and appear more like (very costly) pink diamonds. Still, they may not fetch as high a price as blue due to their lower popularity. For both shades, color is very important to price and value, with medium-dark blues and intense, saturated pinks considered the most valuable.
Selecting a stone
Just remember cool colours go best with cool skin tones – blues, purples, pinks, and reds. So, you might opt for rubies and sapphires. Meanwhile, warm skin tones are really brought out when wearing emeralds, turquoise and chocolate diamonds.
Choose Your Metal
The good news is that sapphire pairs well with both gold and silver, the two main metals used in modern jewelry design, so you do not have to pick favorites. Your choice will ultimately depend on what your outfit looks like.
Thanks to their durability, sapphires are safe to be worn every day.
The price of a sapphire is related to its color, rarity, and size. Larger sapphires in rare colors are more expensive than sapphires with dull colors in smaller carat sizes. Lab-created sapphires tend to be more affordable than sapphires mined in nature.
Ceylon sapphires are regarded as some of the world's best. The best jewels come from Kashmir, but the mines there have been closed for decades, so the area no longer has a steady supply of these precious stones to offer the market.
Check For Blemishes
Natural sapphires have flaws and inclusions which prove that they came straight from nature. If you look at them with a jeweler's magnifying glass or loupe, you will see small spots and blemishes which occur naturally as the sapphire formed thousands of years ago under the earth.
The Rarest Birthstones
For example, April's diamond, though pricey, is less rare than rubies, emeralds, and alexandrite. While on the topic of alexandrite, this is currently the rarest gemstone on the birthstone list and can come at quite a cost. Black opals are also incredibly rare.
Painite : Not just the rarest gemstone, but also the rarest mineral on earth, Painite holds the Guinness World Record for it. After its discovery in the year 1951, there existed only 2 specimens of Painite for the next many decades.
A sapphire engagement ring means honesty, sincerity and faithfulness. It is also believed to provide good fortune within marriage and to keep it strong and healthy.
Everything about the quality, colour and symbolism of sapphires is perfect for engagement rings. To prove this, sapphires are the engagement ring gem chosen by many iconic women. In conclusion, if you're looking for a ring that's beautiful, durable and unique, then sapphires are a great choice.
So what does a sapphire symbolize today? Many sources list that sapphires are believed to symbolize wisdom, virtue, good fortune, and holiness for royals. In an engagement ring, a sapphire means faithfulness and sincerity, too.
Sapphire shapes
The most common cuts are round, oval and cushion, though of course this is down to personal preference. The shape and cut work together to perfectly enhance the color, clarity, and shine of the gem.
Additionally, Australian Sapphires are an extremely durable stone with a hardness of nine on Mohs' scale, which makes them an extremely versatile and high quality piece for everyday wear.
The Kings Plains area, near Inverell, has some of the richest deposits of gem-quality sapphires ever mined. Corundum has also been mined in the Central Queensland Gemfields at Anakie, Rubyvale, Sapphire, the Willows and Glenalva.
The rarity and quality of a gemstone are decisive for its current and also future value. It is no secret that the 'Big 3' - the colored gemstone rubies, sapphires, emeralds as well as colored diamonds are ideal for investment as loose stone or processed in a piece of jewelry.