Jumat, 04 November 2011

Sapphire

Sapphire or its mineralogical name CORUNDUM is a well known gemstone. It's an aluminum oxide with traces of coloring elements. Sapphires can be of all possible colors, including pink, and can also be colorless; partly colored sapphires are quite common. There are also natural sapphires which change color: they are purple in daylight and red in electric light.

Sapphires are very hard and can be worn in any form of jewelry and have long been popular as ring stones. Because of their high density they are usually smaller than most other gemstones of the same weight. They vary in transparency from complete clarity, through various degrees of cloudiness to sub-translucency, but some slight inclusions are not necessarily regarded as defect. The shimmering whitish sheen produced by microscopic needles of rutile and known as 'silk' is accepted as an attractive attribute within reason and as a proof that a stone is genuine.

As usual with gemstones, there is a vast difference in value between really fine specimens and those of lesser quality. Among sapphires, those with rich , but not too deep, blue color are prized most highly. The other colors are less in demand, perhaps because it is not generally realized that sapphires exist in all possible colors (except red). Padparadschas (orange sapphire) of rich color, a reddish-orange, are rare and fetch high prices among collectors.

In jewelry setting sapphires and rubies are often combined with diamonds which set off their color to perfection. Larger stones are often surrounded with small diamonds, smaller stones may be set alternately with diamonds of a matching size as in the traditional three stone or five stone rings. In such cases it is important that the stones should match exactly in color and that they should conform to the design in size. If one stone is lost, it may be quite difficult to match it.

Every conceivable method of imitation and synthesis has been employed to produce artificial rubies and blue sapphires. Glass and synthetic spinel have been used, as well as hydrothermal substitutes. Synthetic sapphires can now be produced in almost any shape and is widely used in the jewelry industry. Colorless synthetic sapphire has long been used as a diamond substitute on account of its hardness and purity.

Source : http://magazine.gem-fashion.com/sapphire.html

6 Things You Should Know Before Buying a Sapphire

Color: The color of a sapphire is one of the strongest determinants of its value. Blue sapphires come in a range of shades. The brightest, most intense are the most valuable. Learn more about how color affects the value of sapphire
Clarity: Clarity is the other most important factor in determining the value of a sapphire. A high quality sapphire must be free from visible inclusions (internal imperfections). Learn more about how clarity affects the value of sapphire
Size: Large, quality sapphires are rare and expensive. For the same color, clarity and cut, the larger the sapphire, the more valuable it is. See pictures and learn more about how size affects the value of sapphire
Cut: Most sapphires available in jewelry are quite poorly cut. Perfectly cut sapphires are usually only available in the finest jewelry and their price reflects a premium. Learn how to tell the difference between a poor cut and a quality cut before buying your sapphire. Read about how cut affects the value of sapphire
Treatments, Synthetics and Imitations: Sapphires are often synthesized and immitated by other substances. In addition, almost all natural sapphires undergo some kind of treatment process. Learn about these before sapphire shopping. Read here to learn about treatments, synthetics and imitations of sapphire and how to tell the difference.
Meaning and Symbology: Sapphire has been revered for centuries all over the world. It is rich with symbolism and special healing properties. Learn more about sapphire meaning and symbology to see if it''s something you relate to.

Source : http://www.shopgemstones.com/sapphire.html

Sapphire

Sapphire or its mineralogical name CORUNDUM is a well known gemstone. It's an aluminum oxide with traces of coloring elements. Sapphires can be of all possible colors, including pink, and can also be colorless; partly colored sapphires are quite common. There are also natural sapphires which change color: they are purple in daylight and red in electric light.

Sapphires are very hard and can be worn in any form of jewelry and have long been popular as ring stones. Because of their high density they are usually smaller than most other gemstones of the same weight. They vary in transparency from complete clarity, through various degrees of cloudiness to sub-translucency, but some slight inclusions are not necessarily regarded as defect. The shimmering whitish sheen produced by microscopic needles of rutile and known as 'silk' is accepted as an attractive attribute within reason and as a proof that a stone is genuine.

As usual with gemstones, there is a vast difference in value between really fine specimens and those of lesser quality. Among sapphires, those with rich , but not too deep, blue color are prized most highly. The other colors are less in demand, perhaps because it is not generally realized that sapphires exist in all possible colors (except red). Padparadschas (orange sapphire) of rich color, a reddish-orange, are rare and fetch high prices among collectors.

In jewelry setting sapphires and rubies are often combined with diamonds which set off their color to perfection. Larger stones are often surrounded with small diamonds, smaller stones may be set alternately with diamonds of a matching size as in the traditional three stone or five stone rings. In such cases it is important that the stones should match exactly in color and that they should conform to the design in size. If one stone is lost, it may be quite difficult to match it.

Every conceivable method of imitation and synthesis has been employed to produce artificial rubies and blue sapphires. Glass and synthetic spinel have been used, as well as hydrothermal substitutes. Synthetic sapphires can now be produced in almost any shape and is widely used in the jewelry industry. Colorless synthetic sapphire has long been used as a diamond substitute on account of its hardness and purity.

Source : http://magazine.gem-fashion.com/sapphire.html

Blue Sapphire - The Gemstone of Capricorn and Aquarius

Blue Sapphire or Neelam is the gemstone of the Zodiacs Capricorn and Aquarius. The Lord of these zodiac signs is Saturn or Shani. This gemstone is blue in color, the color which denotes royalty which the planet Saturn deserves.The sub stones or substitute gems for Neelam are Amethyst, Black Star,Lapis and Black Agate. The beautiful 'Blue Sapphire', is regarded as the 'Stone of the Stones' and is considered to give peace of mind, tranquility, happiness and spiritual enlightenment.

It is a very costly stone like Diamond and obtained by mining. The effect of this stone is the fastest of all stones. The effect of Blue Sapphire or Neelam can be favorable or unfavorable. Neelam is worn only if the effect is positive .Neelam would never bring unfavorable results to Capricorns. Blue Sapphire is also suited for saade saati and a favorable neelam bring in wealth, happiness and fame. It is said that this shani gemstone can turn a beggar to a king.

General info

Before going through the sapphire properties and meanings, let us first recapitulate that sapphire belongs to the group of four most precious stones in the world, where also we enumerate diamond, ruby, and emerald. Sapphire is a stone of protection and prophetic wisdom, a wondrous crystal that can watch over human destiny. It is believed to promote joy, faith, hope and protection during long journeys. It brings light and peace and opens the mind toward beauty and intuitive understanding. Sapphire stones are thought to be able to maintain the hope needed in order that our deepest desires and dreams will be fulfilled one day. The color of sapphire can be blue, purple, green, yellow, even black and colorless, with characteristic silky glow.

The most beautiful specimens of sapphire stones can be found in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Tailand, India, Burma, Madagascar, Australia and Brasil. If the sapphire is coming from Burma, they are considered more costly than those from Ceylon or Madagascar. This is due to their glorious blue color. The sapphires from India are the rarest of all, which makes them the most expensive as their deposits in this part of the world have been depleted a long time ago.
The chemistry of sapphire crystals

The chemical formula of sapphire is Al2O3, which means that this stone is practically aluminum oxide, i.e., alumina. Since I believe everybody has seen aluminum metal and knows how it looks like, it is really amazing to me that its oxide can be so magnificently different. The hardness of sapphire stones is amongst the largest in the mineral world, approaching 9 out of the possible 10 on the Mohs scale.

Sapphire is a variation of corundum, which makes its structure almost identical to the structure of ruby. The difference is only in the minute amounts of additional atoms, so called impurities, which incorporate themselves in the corundum matrix and change many properties of sapphire vs. those of ruby. One of the properties is the color of course. The characteristic color of sapphire, the scientists believe, comes from iron and titanium impurities. In this particular case, one electron jumps from the Fe atom to the Ti atom. This electron then is able to absorb the energy of the red end of the spectrum, therefore effectively transmitting the frequencies from the blue - purple end of the ligh spectrum. This is exactly what gives sapphire the characteristic, well known deep blue color. It is thought that what produces the other colors of sapphire has to with the combination of iron and chromium. In sapphire under magnification one is often able to see threads of rutile, unlike rutile quartz where the rutile needles are visible with naked eye.
The healing and metaphysical properties

Sapphire is able to focus healing energies towards whoever needs them, even without the conscious participation of the recipient, which is a type of manifestation resembling independent inner higher intelligence. According to the tradition, Moses was given the 10 Commandments list on a plate made out of Sapphire, which makes this gemstone one of the most sanctified of all semi precious and precious stones. Due to these obvious Divine characteristic sapphire represents a sort of Divine stone, most desirable by royalty and aristocracy, as well as by highpriests. The British crown is saturated with large blue sapphires, symbols of pure and wise rein. The 423c Logan Sapphire from Sri Lanka is one of the largest known faceted sapphires in the world.

In Vedic astrology blue sapphire is related to Saturn, whereas yellow sapphire has a connection to Jupiter. According to the teaching of this ancient knowledge, the best gemstones to be used for amplifying the beneficial properties of the planets are those which are as pure. transparent and flawless as possible. Indeed such sapphires are hard to find especially if you don't want to pay incredibly high amount of money.

Sapphires are often marked as stones of destiny. They bring mental clarity, and clear perception. It has been argued that they also bring financial independence and even abundance in this area. On the other hand, sapphire is a symbol of the joyful devotion to God. From the point of view of metaphysical science and practice, we should divide the blue sapphires into two categories. The light blue sapphires are those that can be successfully used to balance the fifth chakra Vishuddha. The dark blue sapphires open the sixth chakra Ajna. So if you plan to use them for meditation, mark this distinction.

Sapphire gemstones symbolize truth, faithfulness and honesty. They increase the ability to communicate, release depressive moods and bring calmness, mental clarity, clear vision and peace.

In the crystal healing therapy they reduce the throat related problems, calm fever, nose bleeding, help with tuberculosis, and heal burns. Sapphires are also known to regulate the functioning of the endocrine glands, and help with cardiovascular and blood related diseases.

Sapphire should be cleansed every 15 days together with rock crystal and amethyst. Excellent elixirs and baths.
Sapphire gemstones jewelry

When it comes to jewelry made from sapphier, blue sapphire rings and engagement rings are highly popular but also can be very costly. This is probably due to the above mentioned interest of the royal families in the past, and also to the relative rarity of the transparent blue sapphire stones. Most examples of blue sapphire rings are seen alongside with gold or platinum, and readily combined with diamonds. The blue sapphires come in many nuances of the blue color, ranging from very light almost sky like blue up to the deep rich shades. Too deep blue colors are not advisable as they might then easily turn into black, depending on the inter play of external light.

The treatment of sapphires involves heating, which is the most common procedure to better the visual aspect of the gemstones, diffusion which includes chemical treatment and heating at the same time. By diffusion certain elements can be introduced into the sapphire, but this is a tricky procedure as there is no guarantee it will last long enough and that the effect will be homogeneously distributed throughout the sample. The most widely used treatment is artificial production of sapphires. Corundum is relatively easy to synthesize in laboratory, and since what you would need is aluminum as a start material, the procedure is relatively inexpensive. If you come across a sapphire gem which is incredibly cheap, do not believe it. It is a good indication of synthetic stone. The gemologists and the prominent jewelry stores can detect such artificial samples with high certainty. Have in mind that nearly all sapphires that can be found on the markets are treated one or the other way. It is estimated that less than one percent of the natural sapphires needs no treatment. Those are the most expensive ones.

Sapphires can be very costly. The prices depend upon the treatment involved, and of course, one can imagine that the treated are less expensive. The treatment can involve change in color, saturation of color, clarity and cut. One carat of gemstone quality sapphire, can cost somewhere from several hundreds of dollars up to several thousand. Understandably, the non-gemstone quality sapphires can be purchased for much less, even you can buy a sizable but non transparent sapphire stone for the equivalent of 50 dollars.

Source : http://www.sunnyray.org/Sapphire-properties-and-meaning.htm

Sapphires

As I mentioned earlier, sapphire is corundum, too, and, its physical and chemical properties are virtually identical to those of ruby. In a natural state the gem crystallizes in the hexagonal system with two pyramidal faces. It is fractionally harder than ruby. Curiously, all corundums that are not rubies are classed as sapphires, which means that this particular gem exists in many colours, from blue to green, pink to mauve, white, grey, violet, yellow and orange.

The blue colour of sapphire is due to small amounts of titanium oxides and iron. The finest colour is found in the Kashmir specimens. Ceylon sapphires are generally of a vivid blue, sometimes only partially coloured. Those found in the United States (Montana) have a bright metallic sheen, while Australian sapphires are of a deep blue-green, almost black even. These are the least valuable but most widespread, being mined in great quantity. The coloured sapphires popular today come mainly from the mines in Thailand, Ceylon and Australia. Multi-coloured specimens are also known to exist.

Transparent sapphire, too, cut en cabochon, reflects the light to produce star-like bands. These star stones range in colour from black (black stone sapphire) to blue (saphir etoile). There is also a variety known as alexandrite which is blue in daylight and red-violet in Artificial light.

Both sapphires and rubies have been successfully and widely produced synthetically by the chemist, and in appearance, chemical composition and hardness are almost identical to the natural gems. Manufactured gems can generally be detected by the presence of minute black-rimmed, bright-centered air bubbles or curved bands, visible with the aid of a l0x magnifier.

The focus of the synthetic corundum production is in France, and South East Asian countries are among the biggest buyers. So beware of buying stones from foreigners or well-meaning friends who have just returned from an oriental holiday with the "bargain of the year" Your best course of action is to consult a professional jeweler of sound reputation. In all events, seek expert advice.

Source : http://www.mineralszone.com/gemstones/sapphires.html

Neelam - The Blue Sapphire - Saturn's Gemstone

The Strongest and the fastest acting gemstone among the nine planetary gemstones is Saturn's stone - Neelam (Blue Sapphire). It is also called Sauri ratna (Saturn's stone), Shanipriya (loved by Saturn). It is called Yakut in Persian.

!!!! In the Year 2001 Astro Journey made 37462 Gemstone reports !!!!!


Where it is Found:

It is found in Kashmir, Lanka, Russia, America etc. The best Sapphires are found in Lanka.There is a mine near Soomjam in Kashmir where best quality Sapphires are found. These are also called as Mayur Neelam as their color resembles the neck color of a male peacock.


Types:



Indranil: It is dark blue in colour and resembles the color of the neck of the peacock.

Jalnil: It is dark on the boundaries and light in the center.

!!!! Blue Sapphire was recommended to 8753 individuals by Astro Journey in the year 2001 !!!!



Effects:

As mentioned before it is the fastest acting gem stone. It will show its effect within 3 seconds, 3 minutes, 3 hours or 3 days. If beneficial one may get money or some major problem may be solved, if adverse accidents , financial losses or quarrels will accrue during this 3 day testing period. During this period one is sure to get dreams. One should judge whether to wear it or not by the quality of the dreams. If pleasant dreams come then it means that the Sapphire will be lucky for you.


Benefits:

If the blue Sapphire suits an individual then there will be gains from all sides. It will instill clarity of thought making one disciplined. There will be windfall gains, gain of property, freedom from depression and anxiety, freedom from disease etc. In will also remove the bad effects of the Seven and a half Year Saturn Cycle. It is the best panacea for depressive psychosis, frustration and alcoholism.

Source : http://www.astromandir.com/bluesapphire.html