Birthstone Month:

For the month of September

Mineral Hardness (Mohs)

Exact hardness: 9
Yellow sapphire can only be scratched by materials of equal or greater hardness. A diamond could scratch a sapphire, for example.
Sapphire is tough, which prevents it from breaking easily.

Colour

When we talk about yellow sapphire, we usually mean the blue variant. Sapphires belong to the corundum stone family. Corundum comes in several different colours, such as the colour yellow. The yellow colour of sapphire is caused by a mixture of aluminium and… in the stone. Just like sapphires of different colours, stones are made of different materials.
In addition to beautiful yellow sapphires, the range of gemstones offered by Aileen’s Gemstone also features blue and pink sapphires.

Origin and History

Yellow sapphires are most commonly found in the following countries:
Australia; Cambodia; India, Kashmir; Myanmar; Sri Lanka; Thailand; United States, Montana.
Some specialists hypothesize that the origin of the word would be the Hebrew term sappir (“noble stone”). Sapphire is often a stone allocated to the saturn planet.

Sapphire includes all-natural corundum’s regardless of their colours (except red which is called ruby). Corundum is a mineral based on crystallized anhydrous aluminium oxide which is naturally colourless, it is the presence of oxide-based impurity that gives colour to sapphire. Blue is for example obtained by titanium oxide and iron, vanadium for the colour purple, sapphire pink come from a little chromium oxide and iron will make this gem yellow or green. Sapphire is the second hardest stone after diamond, it is ranked 9 out of 10 on the Mohs hardness scale.

Like ruby, sapphire is formed at a depth of 25 to 50 km, in a complex chemical process where temperatures can reach a temperature of 650 to 720 ° C.

Blue sapphire belongs to the mineral species corundum. It can be a pure blue, but varies from greenish blue to purple blue. The name “sapphire” can also be applied to any corundum which is not red and does not qualify as ruby, another variety of corundum.

In addition to blue sapphire and ruby, the corundum family also includes “fancy sapphires”. They are purple, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple and some intermediate hues. There are also “party-coloured” sapphires which feature different colour combinations.
Some stones exhibit the phenomenon known as colour change, most commonly ranging from blue in daylight or fluorescent lighting to purple under incandescent light. Sapphires can even be Gray, black or brown.

Fancy sapphires are generally less available than blue ones, and some colours are rare, especially in very small or very large sizes.
Still, fancy sapphires create a rainbow of options for people who love the romance associated with this gem, but also want something extraordinary.

The mineral corundum is composed only of aluminium and oxygen, and it requires a growth environment free of silicon. However, silicon is a very common element, making natural corundum relatively rare. In its purest state, corundum is actually colourless. Colourless sapphires were once popular diamond imitations.

But colourless corundum is rare. Most corundum contains trace elements that cause colour. When the trace elements are iron and titanium, corundum is blue sapphire. Only a few hundred percent of iron and titanium can cause the colour, and the more corundum in the iron, the darker the blue. Chromium can cause the red colour of ruby ​​or the pink of pink sapphire.

In the 1990s, discoveries in East Africa and Madagascar made it possible to widely recognize fancy sapphires. The new sources supplemented the production of traditional ones like Sri Lanka and Madagascar and increased the availability of yellows, oranges, pinks and purples.

The colours attracted jewellery designers who wanted to move away from the traditional hues of red, blue and green.

Corundum can show a phenomenon called asterism, or the star effect. This phenomenon usually appears as a six-spoke pattern on a curved cabochon stone surface. The starry effect can be seen in ruby ​​or any colour of sapphire, and it comes from white light reflecting in many small, needle-oriented inclusions.

These fascinating stones change colour under different lightings. Their presence adds a special dimension to the already incredible family of corundum gems.

Care

General care for a yellow sapphire
A sapphire is like a ruby, ie resistant to nicks and liquids. However, we recommend that you take good care of this precious stone and avoid any damage to it.

Imitations

Although yellow sapphires and rubies are generally comparable, they remain so even in their imitations. To create imitations of sapphires, just like imitations of rubies, it is possible to use several different materials, the main difference of which will be the colour. For example: blue glass, blue tourmaline, blue spinel.
A quality sapphire can be recognized by its intense colour and the absence of impurities. The quality of the stone is clear and the stone has an intense blue colour and a vivid sparkle.

Cut

Yellow sapphires can be cut in different ways. The most common cut for a sapphire is the faceted round cut. In addition to this cut, there are many more options ranging from faceted oval cut to cabochon cut with a Star in the Stone effect.