SEPTEMBER BIRTHSTONE : SAPPHIRE
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| Star Sapphire, image courtesy of GIA |
Happy Birthday to all who share this month. Sapphire is your birthstone.
When I was a little girl my parents would occasionally gift me with custom jewelry for my tiny fingers. I never realized how lucky I was to receive such luxurious gifts at a young age. One Christmas morning, I opened a small box to reveal a bright star sapphire ring, which was set in yellow gold and created by my Father just for me. The stone was a beautiful blue with the sharpest star rays I have ever seen to this very day. I would later learn through my gemstone education - the sharper the star - the more valuable the stone. What a wonderful Christmas gift to your daughter. I can only hope I loved it and wore it as intended after the careful thought and love that came through its creation at his bench. Unfortunately, it was stolen from me as a child. I so wish I still had it so I could pass it, and the story it held, down to my daughter.
Sapphire is derived from the Greek word sappherios, which translates to blue. Sapphire’s extraordinary blue color is the standard which all other blue gemstones are measured against. In ancient Greece and Rome, kings and queens were convinced the blue Sapphire protected its wearer from envy and harm.
Even though blue is perhaps one of the most popular colors for Sapphire, this gemstone appears in a kaleidoscope of "fancy colors." There truly is a sapphire shade for everyone, no matter what your favorite color happens to be! From the regal and elegant shades of blue, the sapphire also delivers a palette of intense and pastel colors such as pinks, purples, oranges, yellows, lavender and various shades of greens. Sapphires can even be gray, black or brown. As you see, they are a color wheel unto themselves.
Sapphires boast a few beautiful examples of phenomena (an unusual optical effect displayed by a gem) be it a color changing day-to-night stone or sometimes seen in cabochons the phenomena of asterism, the sharp six rayed star that dances across Sapphire's sleek dome. Sapphires really do have a lot of fun. They are suitable for everyday jewelry as well as treasured in our important and rare jewels of the world. Sapphires are always en vogue, they retain their value, and remain one of the top choices for gemstone jewelry, being one of the big three color gemstones which also includes the Ruby and the Emerald.
For centuries, Sapphire has been associated with royalty and romance, and is linked to events in history as well as fictional and modern day fairytales. Sapphires are known to symbolize nobility, truth, sincerity, and faithfulness.
Enjoy your birthstone. May it bring you all of these qualities and more.
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