When Princess Diana chose the blue gemstone to be part of her engagement ring, critics dubbed it to be a common sapphire in 1981. Little did they know that almost 30 years later, when her son would bring it out again, people would go bonkers over it.
Yes, that’s exactly how the blue sapphire became popular and rose to touch its peak demand. Kate Middleton getting proposed by prince William with his mother, Dianna’s engagement ring in 2010 gave blue Sapphire recognition.
So if you are looking for something which will differentiate you among the crowd and be a little bolder than diamonds, then sapphire is for you.
The Colours
Against popular notion, sapphires are not just blue. Although blue sapphire is the most popular one, they come in other colours as well.
You may have probably heard about the 4Cs of Diamonds, .i.e. cut, colour, clarity, and carat weight. Of these four, colour is most important when dealing with sapphires. The popularity of other colours barring blue is on the rise.
These valuable gemstones occur naturally in other colours as well. Pink sapphire engagement rings have caught the attention of many aspiring brides. After The Simple Life actor Nicole Richie wore a pink sapphire engagement ring, its demand rose suddenly. The engagement ring had an inverted cushion-cut pink sapphire.
Other colours in which you may also find the stones are green, red, yellow, and purple. Though there are so many colour options to choose from, blue sapphires still rule the hearts of women across the globe.
The true essence of the sapphires is their velvety, vibrant hue, which is neither too light nor too dark. The stones can dazzle anyone and everyone. You can check a few great examples of sapphire rings before shortlisting the one for your wedding.
Identifying a good sapphire needs expertise. Though all the blue sapphires lure the onlookers towards them, it is crucial to know a few things that can help you shortlist and finally pick the sapphire apt for you. You may refer to these terms that are used to analyze the blue sapphire’s colour:
- Hue – a fundamental colour describer word for the sapphires. Slight green, slight pink, blue, strong green, and strong pink are the common sapphire hues. The blue hue sapphires are the most popular ones among them.
- Saturation – It defines colour intensity or purity. Ranging from weak to vivid, you may understand the extent of hue masking by grey or brown by the saturation of the sapphires. The descriptors used are medium, weak, strong, fair, and vivid. Sapphires with excellent saturation are vivid.
- Tone – It refers to the amount of colour in the sapphires. It ranges from very light to very dark. Apart from these two, other descriptors may include light, medium, and dark. Medium tone sapphires are the best ones of the lot.
The Cuts
The beauty and rarity of the sapphire stones impel the gem cutters to try and save as much of the stone as possible. If you are looking for an answer to such high prices of round-cut sapphires, here is your reason. The cutters try to save most of the stones’ original rough form, as they were in natural conditions.
The circle cuts take out a major chunk of the rock, unlike the other forms like cushions or oval cuts. For the latter two, most of the rock remains intact and hence they are less expensive compared to round-cut sapphire. When you go shopping, keep in mind these factors, as you may get astonished by seeing smaller round-cut sapphires being more expensive than the larger oval or cushion cut ones.
Unlike diamonds, sapphires do not have a set range of ideal cuts. The reason being the variety of the sapphire stones available in natural forms. Each sapphire is different from another one and requires special attention while cutting.
The ideal cut for one that helps display its brilliance and colour may not be apt for another. At times an emerald cut may suit them the best, while a princess cut may look to be appropriate on other occasions.
If the gem is dark blue, they cut it into a shallower form so that abundant light may enter to heighten its colour. When it is light blue, they cut it with more depth to give it the depth of the colours that the stone needs. The cut depends a lot on the colour of the gemstone.
So whichever design you like, sapphires will help add that bling to your style quotient. The cut may be round or oval, be rest assured it will stand out in the crowd. There are many styles or colours to choose from the lot. Though the English Royalty may have left a strong mark on your head about the blue sapphires, the other ones are definitely worth a try!
