

It takes a lot of experience to adjust for both dichroism and zoning.

Most sapphire stones also show unintentional color zoning, for which you'll need to account. Those gems must be oriented for color, regardless of the yield. Dichroism, with one direction green, is common. If you get blue sapphires for faceting, you'll find the color isn't usually consistent all the way through. Dichroism and Color Zoning in Rough Sapphire Hot "bubble gum" pink sapphire crystal, 3.8 x 3.0 x 1.7 cm, Dattaw Mine, Mogok, Myanmar. Hot pink sapphire, which is in high demand, is an exception. Here, value has more to do with personal preference, as just about all shades of color are available and worth about the same. Fancy Colored Sapphiresįor fancy colored sapphires, no one location stands out. Deep, royal blue gems are quite valuable, until they get too dark.Īs a general rule, the best blue rough sapphire stones come from south and southeast Asia, although those from Africa sometimes have pretty high quality. Lighter stones lose value quickly, deeper blues less so.

This is the most valued color in sapphire. Otherwise, I would best describe it as the deepest blue in a clear sky.

If you're a gardener, you know what the color refers to. The term "cornflower blue" is greatly over used. A mix of rough sapphire stones and finished gems from Rock Creek, Montana. That's why they usually cost less than other blue sapphires, since their value comes primarily from the purity of their color. If you're looking for blue, rough sapphire stones from Montana are usually "steely," meaning they have a gray tone to them. © Rob Lavinsky, Used with permission.Īnswer: That's a big question. A gemmy, sky-blue sapphire crystal from Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. What are the best rough sapphire stones? Songea, Tunduru, Umba, Australia, Montana… it's all very confusing. From what part of the world, I don't know. Question: I'm interested in finding some nice sapphire stones.
