September birthstone – the sapphire that will make your eyes shine
In September, the blue sky and cool wind brought us into the exclusive month of sapphire. As the birthstone of September, sapphire has a variety of colors and shows the vitality of life.
Sapphire is the collective term for all corundum gemstones except ruby. With a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, sapphire is a relatively hard gemstone with good durability. Sapphire deposits have been found on all five continents of the world, among which the sapphires from Kashmir are very famous, and the beautiful cornflower blue sapphires are mainly produced here; The royal blue sapphire produced in Myanmar has been widely favored by consumers for its deep and elegant pure blue color for many years; The padparadscha sapphire from Sri Lanka is also a precious sapphire that is famous for its fresh and delicate orange-pink color like a lotus flower. In addition, sapphires are produced in China, Thailand, Australia, the United States, Tanzania and other places.
Sapphires with a star effect are more valuable than ordinary sapphires of the same quality, with a star effect of six stars and twelve stars, and twelve star sapphires are rare. It should be noted that when a sapphire has an asterism effect, it is necessary to identify whether the asterism is natural by means of detection, because the starlight formed by surface diffusion treatment is different from the natural starlight characteristics, which will lead to a large price difference in the sapphire, which is especially obvious on high-quality star sapphires. Under the premise that the star effect is good, the more transparent and rare the star effect is, the higher the value, and the hematite and rutile inclusions that cause the star effect are not included in the scope of sapphire clarity assessment.
After a brief understanding of the types of sapphires, I believe that many sapphire fans also want to further learn the main factors that affect the value of sapphires.
First of all, the carat weight of a gemstone is one of the important factors that affect the value of a gemstone. At the same quality, the larger the sapphire, the rarer and more valuable. Especially for high-quality sapphires, an increase in carat weight can lead to a tiered price premium.
To assess the value of a sapphire, it is important to look at the color. Sapphires come in a wide variety of colors, each with a different standard of value. In general, the more intense a gemstone’s color and lack of significant color gamut, the more valuable it is. If a sapphire has a grayish appearance, is too light or too dark, its value will decrease.
Clarity is also one of the most important factors in determining the value of a sapphire. When buying sapphires, we need to consider two issues: one is whether the size, number, position, and contrast of the internal inclusions of the gemstone will affect the transparency of the gemstone. The clarity grade is reduced when the inclusions are large and visible to the naked eye, or when the inclusions are small but distributed in small scattered patterns that affect the transparency of the gemstone. The second is to consider the impact of internal imperfections on the durability of the gemstone, as larger internal fractures will reduce the durability of the gemstone and its clarity will also decrease.
The impact of cut on the value of a sapphire cannot be ignored. The evaluation of cut is mainly based on the shape, proportion, symmetry and finish of the gemstone. The more common cut shapes of sapphire are oval and short-rectangular, followed by round and emerald. The proportions mainly include the length-to-width ratio and the full-depth ratio of the cut. Symmetry refers to symmetrical elements such as whether the outline is symmetrical, whether the culet is eccentric, and whether the table top is tilted. Degree of finishing, refers to whether the facets are arranged neatly, whether there are additional facets, the deviation that has little impact on the overall proportion of the cut and the polishing quality. When cutting gemstones, cutters try to take care of their weight, and inevitably overlook some of the proportions between the countertop and the pavilion, which can lead to a loss of fire. Therefore, when buying sapphires, try to choose sapphires with exquisite cut and good fire.
Sapphires are associated with loyalty, hope and love. If you happen to be born in September and want to choose a great gift for yourself, then sapphire is a good choice.
