More About Sapphires

Sapphire is the gem variety of the mineral Corundum, one of the most priced gems in the world. Their hardness is second only to diamonds and their durability makes them suitable for jewellery use. Sapphires come in all colours with the red stones called "Ruby".

The general colours are blue, green and yellow. The colours can be found together as multi-coloured gems known as "Parti Colours Sapphire".

Sapphires found at the gems fields are commonly water worn and found among water worn rocks, iron stones, zircons and other minerals which looked like old river beds. These old river beds are called "The Wash" which miners look for and get their samples tested for any sapphires deposit. Sometimes 'the wash' can be quite deep. A six sided sapphire is called a "Dog's Tooth".

Another found here is the Star Sapphire, commonly black or bronze in colour.

Inverell, Glen Innes and the surrounding district have been known as a major source of beautiful sapphires for the world market.

What is A Sapphire?

Sapphire is a gem form of Corundum which is Aluminium Oxide. Pure crystalline corundum without impurities is colourless and not very valuable as a gem. However, minute amount of impurities of iron, titanium, nickel, chromium, vanadium causes colours in corundum. The combination of different impurities or different ions causes different colours. In the early days only the blue stones were considered to be sapphires while other colours: yellow, orange, green and pink were known as fancy colours.

Heat Treatment

Most sapphires in the market have been subject to heat treatment to improve clarity and colour. There are very few stones in the market these days that are not heat treated. To get rid of the silk or dullness in the stones this method is generally accepted worldwide so long as there is no chemical involved. Chemically treated sapphires are less in value. Therefore the buyer has the right to know the history of each gemstone before buying.

For your peace of mind our top quality stones come with a guarantee of their origin and authenticity as we process our own sapphires from the rough to the finish.