colors except red (the red variety being known
as ruby), but is especially popular in deep blue.
Fancy colored sapphires -- including pink, green,
orange and golden yellow -- are magnificent
when combined in a necklace or bracelet.
Prince Charles chose a blue sapphire for
Princess Diana's engagement ring. The stone's
durability, combined with Its beauty, makes it the
perfect alternative for an engagement ring.
Sapphire is the September birthstone as well as
the accepted anniversary gem for the 5th and
45th years of marriage.
Ancient priests and sorcerers honored sapphire
above all gems, for this stone enabled them to
interpret oracles and foretell the future. Ancients
believed the Ten Commandments were written
on a sapphire tablet. Marriage partners put great
faith in the stone. If its luster dimmed, one knew
his or her spouse had been unfaithful. Sapphire
refused to shine when worn by the wicked or
impure.
As part of the customary fashioning process,
virtually all blue, yellow and golden sapphires are
heated to permanently produce or intensffy their
color.
As with all gemstones, care should be taken to
protect it from scratches and sharp blows.
Sapphire is found mainly in Sri Lanka, Southeast
Asia, Australia and East Africa.