Sapphire CareĪs a durable gemstone, possessing excellent toughness, a sapphire birthstone is relatively easy to maintain.

In fact, the ancient Romans held a popular belief sapphire stones granted them protection from harm or envy. There were also beliefs that the gemstone gave the owner the ability to see the future.

Still others believed in the stone’s ability to counteract toxins as the antidote to poison. European past cultures held that the gemstone’s possession protected against the plague and illnesses affecting the eye. Others regarded it for the deeper meaning their philosophies projected onto it. Imperial State Crown of Queen Victoria Sapphire: Philosophy Of The StoneĪcross the globe, the sapphire gemstone’s beauty attracted deep meaning to several cultures. It was frequently sewn onto the robes and fixed on the fingers of affluent nobility-some as notorious as Rome’s ruthless emperor Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (more infamously known as Caligula), and more notably, others such as new cardinals who received sapphire ecclesiastical rings as a gift from the Pope. Sapphire Birthstone: Its HistoryĪs early as 1,800 years ago, the blue variety of the September sapphire was among the most coveted natural gemstones. We regard a red gemstone as a ruby, while we identify all other hues as sapphires.īut one of the best-known stones (and one of the most beautiful) is the dazzling royal blue. Sharing much in common with the ruby, which is its sister birthstone, sapphires are similar in mineral structure, separated from its sibling primarily by color. Sapphire Shades And VarietiesĪs a variety of the mineral corundum, it owes its magnificent chromatic coloration to the elements: aluminum oxide, iron, and magnesium. Impressively, it rates a 9 on the Mohs Scale of hardness, second to the resilient diamond, rated on the scale at 10.

These stones can go from blushing blue under the light of day, to violet under the indoor lighting of a common house lamp. We revere these variety of colors for the amazing changing character, or the visual shift in hues in varied lighting.

Blue sapphire birthstone