Fancy Sapphire

Sapphire, the birthstone for September, has a name that is known and prized throughout the world. Yet the public invariably thinks of sapphire as a blue gemstone; the name itself comes from a Latin word that means "blue". This is unfortunate, because sapphire occurs in a wide range of colors and many of these hues are much rarer than the blue shades. The red variety of sapphire has a special name: it is called "ruby". But the term "sapphire" applies to ALL colors of the mineral corundum that are cut as gemstones, not just the blue variety.

Most of the best sapphires of the world today come from the fabled island of Sri Lanka, where elephants still work the tea plantations. Yellow sapphires from this locality are magnificent, and may reach sizes of several hundred carats. These large stones are museum pieces, yet are surprisingly inexpensive despite their great rarity. Pink and violet sapphires from Sri Lanka are extremely intense and vibrant in their coloration and are generally much rarer than blue sapphires.

Green sapphire comes from Cambodia, but the color is muddy and unattractive (with very rare exceptions); yellow sapphires also come from Australia, but are so scarce that few are available in the world marketplace. All colors of sapphire share the magic of this ancient name; it is only a matter of time before the non-blue colors are recognized and demand brings their price levels up to par with the popular blue stones.