This document provides an overview of the gemstone sapphire and its distinctive blue color. It describes how sapphire's blue hue is deep and evocative, staying with the observer long after seeing it. The document also notes that sapphire is prized not just for its transparency and luster, but also its texture - some specimens contain fine rutile needles or zoning patterns that create imperfections but add natural beauty. It quotes a gem expert saying the finer qualities of sapphire are found not in flawlessness, but in its variations, and that one shouldn't seek perfection but something to appreciate for a lifetime.

1. Romancing the Stone: Sapphire
A SlideShare
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Photo courtesy of www.multi-gems.com

2. Azure, Navy, Cerulean, Indigo, Royal, Cornflower,
“Peacock’s neck”. Each of these descriptors have been used
to describe the color blue. While a good start, they have
unfortunately never been able to completely encapsulate the
majesty of the blue displayed in sapphire.

3. There is a very lasting quality about the blue of sapphire. Much like
when you meet people whose gaze is as deep as it is engrossing; it is
something which stays with you, long after the moment has past. So
imagine, being able to adorn yourself with that color, with that
evocative feeling…..

4. The “Star of Kashmir”. Photo courtesy of www.jeweldujour.com

5. Left to right: The James Hill Sapphire.
Photo courtesy of www.christies.com;
A sapphire ring designed by Birks. Photo
courtesy of www.polyvore.com;
A sapphire ring designed by Harry
Winston. Photo courtesy of
www.harrywinston.com.

6. After the color, gems are often described by their transparency and
lustre. Sapphire, while prized for both, is also admired for its texture.
Simply put, it is singular in its kind. In some specimens, fine rutile
needles scatter about throughout the stone, creating a fine haze “silk”
(as seen in the background image). Others have zoning, a natural
distribution of color, which is as beautiful as it is imperfect.
Fine rutile crystals in sapphire. Photo courtesy of
www.eos.ubc.ca

7. Sri Lankan sapphire. Photo courtesy of F. Barlocher

8. So we have an interesting dichotomy; in a world where people seek out
perfection, it turns out that the finer qualities in sapphire are in the
imperfections and the variations.
“Leave D Flawless to the gem of the common man, for it
doesn’t exist in sapphire. Don’t seek perfection, just look
for something you can spend the rest of your life with”.
- Richard W. Hughes
Ruby & Sapphire: A collector’s Guide (2014)

9. Sapphire once belonging to Edward the Confessor, now on the
English Crown Jewels. Photo courtesy of
www.royalcentral.co.uk

10. Burmese sapphire and diamond necklace. Photo courtesy of
www.preciousgemstones.com

11. “Cartier Panthere” sapphire brooch designed by Cartier.
Photo courtesy of www.timeandtidewatches.com
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