Choosing a Sapphire Ring

While browsing through a jewellery store, looking for a ring for that special someone -- perhaps not just a ring, but the ring that will announce your very special intentions -- you'll see the glittering diamond, the colorful ruby, and emerald, and then you'll be stopped in your tracks by that one ring that stands out from all the others. The centre stone sparkles much like a diamond, but its colour is the blue of the sky. "Is that a blue diamond?" you may ask the clerk. "No sir!" the clerk responds. "That sir," the clerk continues, "is a sapphire."

Sapphire rings have the advantage of durability over all rings except the diamond; the diamond is the hardest mineral on earth; the sapphire is the second hardest. But hardness is the only category where sapphires take second place. Sapphire rings have a clarity and transparency that compares well with the diamond and are available in a wide range of brilliant colours, from the traditional blue that most people associate with sapphires to shades of purple, yellow, pink, green, and even white.

Sapphire rings are most often platinum or white gold with a center sapphire gemstone that is, many times, surrounded by other, smaller stones. A blue sapphire is probably the most popular because it is the traditional colour of the sapphire, but sapphires of other colours, known as "fancies" may better suit some people's personal tastes. Therefore, as a rule, it's always best to ruin the "surprise," and allow the ultimate wearer to choose the colour of the centre stone and the setting.

As you may have already assumed, the cost of sapphire rings will vary depending on the colour, size, and shape of the centre stone, as well as on the setting and the choice of platinum or gold. A blue sapphire will most often be more expensive than a sapphire of a different colour, and a round-cut stone will most often be more expensive than a marquis or pear cut.

The value of the sapphire stone itself, however, will to a large extent depend on two other factors that are not apparent to most buyers of sapphire rings: the source of the sapphire and the skill of the cutter who turned it from a raw sapphire into the gemstone you see on the sapphire ring. A sapphire, for example, that was mined in Kashmir, India will be slightly more expensive, and considered to be of higher quality, than one mined in Burma. Most jewellery store personnel will probably not know the source of the stone, but the point is that two sapphires that look identical to the eye of the average shopper may have very different prices because the dealer had to pay more for the higher quality stone. The cut of the stone is also critical to the stone's value. After a sapphire is mined, it is placed in the hands of a gemstone cutter who must position and cut the stone at an angle that accentuates the sapphire's color, transparency, and intensity.

Sapphire Rings are a wonderful gift and perfect for individuals that adore blue.