Sapphire is one of the most popular of all gems. In ancient times, the Persians believed the earth rested upon a huge blue sapphire. The reflection from this jewel was said to give the sky its color.
Sapphires and rubies are structurally the same kind of stone (corundum), differing only in color and very minor element differences. The most desired color of sapphire is the deep blue hue, but rarer colors are also available. Most sapphires are mined in Asia, but occasionally we receive them from famed Yogo Gulch, Montana. Sapphires have long been the symbol for truth, luck and constancy. They have a hardness of 9; only diamonds are harder.
Star sapphires are also popular in men's and ladies jewelry. They come in genuine black from Australia. Red and gray star sapphires are usually from Burma. Natural blue star sapphires are very rare and often have inferior color. The star is formed by asterism, caused by fine oriented needle-like inclusions, that in sunlight cause three rays to form across the top of the stone, a six pointed star, believed to stand for faith, hope and charity. It has been duplicated by the Linde Corporation in their laboratories in a procedure called crystal growth. This process results in physically and chemically exact composed stones, which makes these man-made stones much higher in quality and a lot more plentiful and thus lower in price. The Linde Corporation no longer produces stones, so we now refer to the laboratory grown stones as "synthetic stars." Because of its great hardness it is extremely wearable, and is an appropriate gift of good luck for any occasion.
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