How to Buy Sapphire
Know what tone of blue you want., Take the hue into consideration., Look at the transparency of the stone., Consider a fancy color sapphire., Be aware of how origin affects the price., Pay attention to cut., Expect more inclusions with blue...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Know what tone of blue you want.
Sapphires come in blues, with the lightest being Sweden princess blue and the darkest being navy or black.
The most prized color is royal blue, which is in the middle of the scale.
As the most prized, however, it is also the most expensive.
Camelot and commodore blues, which are one shade lighter and darker, respectively, are similar in hue but slightly more affordable. -
Step 2: Take the hue into consideration.
Blue sapphires can be pure blue, or they can be tinted by green or purple.By value, pure blue ranks highest with slight purple tints following shortly after.
Strong purple hues and any green hue are generally considered undesirable. , Transparency is often overlooked when buying sapphires, but the more transparent a stone is, the more brilliant it will look.
Transparent stones can also be expensive, though.
Fully transparent and semi-transparent stones allow the most light to pass through.
Translucent sapphires allow light to pass through, but obscure objects, making it a good compromise between transparency quality and budget.
Semi-opaque and opaque stones allow little to no light to pass through., While blue is the most common color for a sapphire, these gemstones also come in several other colors.
Padparadscha sapphires, which are orange-pink, are rare and considered valuable.
Pink sapphires are also popular.
Colorless, yellow, and green sapphires are significantly less prized. , Where a sapphire was mined can have a huge impact on its overall cost.
Sapphires mined in Kashmir, Mogok, Burma, and Ceylon are usually more prized than those mined elsewhere.Typically, that is because the quality of sapphires coming from these mines is higher than those coming from most other locations.
This is not always true, though, and paying for origin is a little like paying for a brand name.
You can save money by purchasing quality sapphires from "lesser" mines. , Cut does not refer to the shape of the stone.
Rather, it refers to the facets on a gem's surface, which allow light and color to shine through at their best.
A deep cut sapphire has better color, while shallow stones often look too big for their own weight and look lighter in tone.
The cut of a sapphire is usually rated on a scale of excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor.
Look for ratings from an official gemstone organization, like the Gemological Institute of America.
Jewelers may provide their own rating, but it is usually more generous than the official GIA rating. , A sapphire's clarity grade refers to the number of inclusions or cracks inside a stone.
The fewer cracks, the more expensive a stone will be.
Look for an official rating from a gemstone association like the GIA.
VVS (slightly included), VS (slightly included), and SI1 (slightly included) stones have few inclusions, and the inclusions they have do not affect the brilliance of the stone.
SI2 stones have inclusions that are obvious under magnification but have a minor effect on the stone's brilliance.
I1, I2, and I3 have inclusions and surface blemishes that are obvious even without magnification. , Most sapphires are heat-treated.
Jewelers heat sapphires in an oven under high temperatures for several hours, thus enriching the color of the stone.
Untreated stones that are free of inclusions and possess superior color are rare and expensive, but because heat treatment is so commonplace, a heat-treated sapphire can still be valuable. -
Step 3: Look at the transparency of the stone.
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Step 4: Consider a fancy color sapphire.
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Step 5: Be aware of how origin affects the price.
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Step 6: Pay attention to cut.
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Step 7: Expect more inclusions with blue sapphires.
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Step 8: Do not be afraid of picking out a treated sapphire.
Detailed Guide
Sapphires come in blues, with the lightest being Sweden princess blue and the darkest being navy or black.
The most prized color is royal blue, which is in the middle of the scale.
As the most prized, however, it is also the most expensive.
Camelot and commodore blues, which are one shade lighter and darker, respectively, are similar in hue but slightly more affordable.
Blue sapphires can be pure blue, or they can be tinted by green or purple.By value, pure blue ranks highest with slight purple tints following shortly after.
Strong purple hues and any green hue are generally considered undesirable. , Transparency is often overlooked when buying sapphires, but the more transparent a stone is, the more brilliant it will look.
Transparent stones can also be expensive, though.
Fully transparent and semi-transparent stones allow the most light to pass through.
Translucent sapphires allow light to pass through, but obscure objects, making it a good compromise between transparency quality and budget.
Semi-opaque and opaque stones allow little to no light to pass through., While blue is the most common color for a sapphire, these gemstones also come in several other colors.
Padparadscha sapphires, which are orange-pink, are rare and considered valuable.
Pink sapphires are also popular.
Colorless, yellow, and green sapphires are significantly less prized. , Where a sapphire was mined can have a huge impact on its overall cost.
Sapphires mined in Kashmir, Mogok, Burma, and Ceylon are usually more prized than those mined elsewhere.Typically, that is because the quality of sapphires coming from these mines is higher than those coming from most other locations.
This is not always true, though, and paying for origin is a little like paying for a brand name.
You can save money by purchasing quality sapphires from "lesser" mines. , Cut does not refer to the shape of the stone.
Rather, it refers to the facets on a gem's surface, which allow light and color to shine through at their best.
A deep cut sapphire has better color, while shallow stones often look too big for their own weight and look lighter in tone.
The cut of a sapphire is usually rated on a scale of excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor.
Look for ratings from an official gemstone organization, like the Gemological Institute of America.
Jewelers may provide their own rating, but it is usually more generous than the official GIA rating. , A sapphire's clarity grade refers to the number of inclusions or cracks inside a stone.
The fewer cracks, the more expensive a stone will be.
Look for an official rating from a gemstone association like the GIA.
VVS (slightly included), VS (slightly included), and SI1 (slightly included) stones have few inclusions, and the inclusions they have do not affect the brilliance of the stone.
SI2 stones have inclusions that are obvious under magnification but have a minor effect on the stone's brilliance.
I1, I2, and I3 have inclusions and surface blemishes that are obvious even without magnification. , Most sapphires are heat-treated.
Jewelers heat sapphires in an oven under high temperatures for several hours, thus enriching the color of the stone.
Untreated stones that are free of inclusions and possess superior color are rare and expensive, but because heat treatment is so commonplace, a heat-treated sapphire can still be valuable.
About the Author
Justin Armstrong
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in organization and beyond.
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