One 3.5mm Sapphire round purple pink Mauve retailer 0.195ct approx heated 3.5mm by 2.2mm deep Ratnapura Sri Lanka

Also see NirvanaGems London https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/NirvanaGemsLondon

ShangrilaGems
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ShangrilaGems source and manufacture Responsible gemstones

Cut in Jaipur for ShangrilaGems

SALE IS FOR ONE SAPPHIRE ONLY - BUT MORE CAN BE PURCHASED IN THE QUANTITY OPTIONS.


Sapphire is the birthstone for September. The 423-carat (85 g) Logan sapphire in the National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, D.C., is one of the largest faceted gem-quality blue sapphires in existence.

History of Sapphire
In the middle ages it was said that Sapphire preserved chastity, discovered fraud and treachery and protected from poison, plague, fever and skin diseases.

Sapphire Visuals
In the gem industry, color in gemstones is referred to in three components: hue, saturation, and tone. Hue is the "color" of the gemstone. Saturation refers to the strength/depth of the color of the gemstone or ‘colorfulness' and tone is the light to dark of the color.

Specfications of Sapphire
Hardness on Mohs Scale: 9 Toughness: Excellent
Luster: Vitreous Specific Gravity: 3.58 – 3.61
Refractive Index: 1.712-1.740 Cleavage: None
General Chemical Formula: A2+B23+O42-
Crystal form: Sapphire crystals occur as barrel shaped, double pointed hexagonal pyramids and tabloid shapes. Corundrum is generally found in metamorphic rocks and in alluvial gem gravel deposits. Sapphire may also be found in pegmatites.


Treatment of Sapphire
· Basic heat treatment of Sapphires has been done for thousands of years. It improves the color and removes some of the rutile inclusions or ‘silk', depending on how long it is heated for and at what temperature . Gentle heat treatment is merely a continuation of the processes that happens in the earth.
· Blue Sapphires have long been diffusion treated; this is the diffusion of chemicals into the stone to produce a thin layer of vastly improved surface color. If the stone chips it is often ruined. The stone is coated with various chemicals including Aluminium oxide and heated for several days. An asterism – diffused star is exaggerated by diffusing excess titanium into the stone.
· Songea Sapphires, as already mentioned are heated with the chemical Berryllum to just below melting point of 2000 degrees. They are known in the trade as BE Sapphires. The color of these Sapphires should be obvious; bright tangerine, red, golden yellow and retailer green – as should be the price. As a routine treatment many gem dealers now know about it and they tend to term the Sapphires ‘treated' without mentioning Beryllum at all, but there are still those selling these Sapphires as untreated or merely ‘heated'
· Fisure filling or fracture filling does take place in Sapphires, known as lead glass filling.

ShangrilaGems observations
Beryllum treatment or Latice diffusion as it is also known has moved to a different level now: it is also known to be used to lighten blue and pink Sapphires and to produce the wonderful Padparadcha shade. This treatment, specifically with Blue Sapphire is apparently alternated with heat treatment to get the right color. This is altogether far more difficult to spot and detect and the process is under investigation by the GIA. Sapphires can also be lead glass filled.


ShangrilaGems are Corporate Members of the British Gemmological Association.