AUSTRALIAN SAPPHIRES

AUSTRALIAN SAPPHIRES

Australian sapphires are one of my absolute favourite materials to works with. Why do I love them so much?

They are beautiful.

They are hard.

They come in sooooo many colours, often multiple colours in the one stone. 

They are locally sourced and often locally cut too, making them an economic and sustainable option!

 

ARE AUSTRALIAN SAPPHIRES SUITABLE FOR ENGAGEMENT RINGS?

Yes! Sapphires are suitable for all types of jewellery including engagement rings. Being the hardest, naturally occurring gem after diamond they are incredibly durable. They are the only precious gemstone we recommend for an engagement ring as jewellery worn on the hand gets the most wear and tear and they are intended to be worn every day.

 

WHAT COLOURS ARE AUSTRALIAN SAPPHIRES?

Australia was originally famous for deep, royal blue sapphires. Due to the high iron content of the land blue is the most common colour found.

 

The rich and vibrant blue that put Australian sapphires on the map.

 

These days we find green and teal sapphires to be just as popular, if not more so, than the blues. 

Yellow Australian sapphires are also quite numerous. Other, less common colours include pink, purple, orange, red, brown, grey and white.

 

Top Left: A set of three perfectly matched green Australian sapphires set into a trilogy engagement ring.
Top Right: An organic engagement ring with a lovely Australian teal sapphire.
Bottom: An Australian parti sapphire engagement ring that's predominantly yellow with a tiny, deep blue band on one edge that throws some green into the stone.

 

 

It's rare but colour change Australian sapphires can also be found. These stones appear one colour in natural light and another in artificial light. 

With most of the colours they can be quite pale, almost pastel, all the way through to so dark they look almost black. 

 

This pastel blue and yellow Australian parti sapphire is a good example of a pale specimen.
 
This Australian blue and green parti sapphire is so dark as to be almost black with bright flashes of colour when the light hits it just right.

 

 

WHAT IS A PARTI SAPPHIRE?

'Parti' refers to the presence of more than one colour. Some parti sapphires are quite well blended. In these stones different flashes of colour appear as the stone moves around in light. In other stones the colours are distinctly separate. There can be colour banding, sections of clearly defined colour, or even clear, sharp lines of colour running through the stone.

Distinct colour banding in sapphires is unique to Australian stones. While it can be found in sapphires mined in other countries it is rarer and generally less defined.

 

One of the most unique examples of a parti sapphire we have ever seen! It's a whopping 4.07ct, emerald cut beauty. Predominantly yellow with patches of blue, green and teal and clearly defined, dark blue bands running through, under the table. 

 

This parti sapphire clearly displays blue, yellow and teal patches without any clearly defined colour banding when viewed from this angle.

 

 

 

ARE THERE AUSTRALIAN SAPPHIRES WITH UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS?

Personally I think the wide ranging inclusions and 'imperfections' of Australian sapphires are fascinating and beautiful. I love nothing more than getting my hands on a stone that looks totally different when the light hits it just right. Or it has inclusions that shine golden in the sunlight. Or a combination of colours that wouldn't typically be considered beautiful together but somehow they just work. 

Sapphire characteristics and inclusions are a result of the environment in which they were formed. Sometimes inclusions can make a stone unstable and unsuitable for jewellery, but we carefully screen our stones to make sure they will have a long life. 

 

This unique parti sapphire combines the unusual combination of green and orange! It also has a white, shadowy inclusion in the lower right hand side that doesn't alter the stability of the stone. 
gap
The sapphire set in this engagement ring has visible inclusions and imperfections that add character and individuality.

 

 

Every stone is different. And every stone has a design that's going to enhance it's natural character rather than try to disguise it. I love finding out what that is!

 

 

WHY ARE AUSTRALIAN SAPPHIRES HEAT TREATED?

It is very common for Australian sapphires to have 'silk' present. Silk refers to tiny rutile crystals that have developed within the stone. When light passes through the stone it is scattered and reflected by the silk and gives the stone a cloudy, milky or oily appearance. 

If a stone is really heavily and evenly silky it can be cut into a star sapphire cabochon that displays a six pointed star on the surface when hit with direct light. These stones are generally opaque and beautiful in their own right. 

Heat treatment 'removes' the silk by forcing it back into solid solution within the gem and then trapping it there by cooling the stone faster than would have naturally occurred in the ground. 

Heat treatment of sapphires begun in the early 1900s and has been widely practiced and accepted around the world since roughly the 50s. Nothing is added to or removed from the stone and it is an extremely safe form of treatment. Its only purpose is to improve the colours within a sapphire and how the light travels through. 

 

 

WHERE ARE SAPPHIRES FOUND IN AUSTRALIA?

Most of the sapphires we source come from the gem fields in New South Wales and Queensland. Sapphires can be found in lots of places all over Australia but the highest concentrations are found in the gem fields. 

 

 

HOW ARE AUSTRALIAN SAPPHIRES SUSTAINABLE?

Australian sapphires are alluvial. This means they are relatively close to the surface (if not sitting right on top!). While larger scale mining operations exist they do not have to dig as deep as other precious gems around the world. And there are lots of small scale, independent, family run mining operations in Australia that we are lucky enough to be able to work with directly. 

Fortunately there are also pretty strict requirements for returning excavated earth once mining is complete and restoring the site to its original state.

In addition, with the stones being cut locally where possible, there is a significant reduction in carbon footprint as the stones are not travelling around the world between mine and consumer.  

 

 

WHAT DO AUSTRALIAN SAPPHIRES COST?

The cost of Australian sapphires varies greatly. The key determining factors are:

Colour - the depth and brightness of the colour, the uniformity or combination of colours, the rarity of the colour and the current popularity of the colour all contribute to the cost

Clarity - the presence and visibility of inclusions and imperfections can make a stone less expensive than an internally clean stone without affecting its suitability for jewellery

Carat - the weight of the finished sapphire has a great impact on the price

Cut - this refers to the shape of the stone as well as the quality of the cut itself. A poorly cut stone may appear to have a 'window'. This looks like a dull patch in the middle of the stone. A well cut stone will appear uniform and have well defined sparkle throughout.

Origin/History - we work closely with independent miners and cutters as well as local gem merchants who work directly with larger scale mining operations. Where the stone was mined, where it was cut, how far it has travelled and how many hands it has passed through to get from ground to us can all contribute to the price. 

We have a small selection of Australian sapphires available in our store and we are always happy to work with customers to source the perfect stone for any budget. If you have a project in mind you can get in touch here.

 

If you've stuck with me this far, thank you! I could literally talk about sapphires all day :)

 

xx Megan

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