Sapphire: The September Birthstone

As a precious gemstone, sapphire has some amazing properties and a rich history. It is also the birthstone of September - a month of change where summer meets autumn and the wooly jumpers come out!

In this blog post, we delve into everything sapphire. This includes formation, physical properties and meta-physical properties as well as, of course, some jewellery making inspiration.

Browse our full range of sapphire gemstones for your jewellery designs online now, including cabochons, faceted stones, rose cut cabochons and beads in a range of colours, shapes and sizes.

Sapphire Facts

Colour: Blue in various hues, colourless, pink, orange, yellow, green, purple and black.

Appearance: Transparent or opaque. 

Rarity: Some colours of the stone are rare - others are easily obtained as uncut stones. 

Moh's Hardness Scale: 9

Sourced: Czech Republic, Thailand, Brazil, Kenya, India, Australia, Sri Lanka.

FORMATION & HISTORY OF SAPPHIRE

The name sapphire is Greek for blue. Before the properties of the stone were discovered in the middle ages, the name sapphire was applied to various blue stones such as what is now called lapis lazuli.

Around the 1800s it was recognised that sapphire and ruby are gem varieties of the same mineral - Corundum. Corundum is a rock forming mineral which is the hardest after diamond.

Pure corundum is colourless, however the colours that are found in both ruby and sapphire are caused by small amounts of chemical impurities. The rich red of ruby is caused by chromium, whilst sapphire is the name given to all other colours of corundum which is caused by iron and titanium. These colours include blues, yellows, pinks, greens and more. Sapphire is more commonly associated with the colour blue.

Before the various variety of colours was given the name sapphire, they were given misleading names, such as "oriental topaz" and "oriental peridot".  

The main sapphire bearing rocks are marble, basalt or pegmatite. The most desired sapphires used to come from Kashmir, India, where the deposits were situated at a height of 16,500 ft in the Zaskar region. It is said the sapphires were of deep cornflower blue with a silky sheen.

METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Sapphire is known as the wisdom stone, each colour has its own particular wisdom. It is said to focus the mind, releasing unwanted thoughts and creating a calm effect.

Sapphire is said to bring peace of mind and serenity by aligning physical, mental and spiritual planes to restore balance within the body.

By Colour:

Blue Sapphire: A seeker of truth and traditionally associated with love and purity. Said to facilitate self-expression and speaking the truth.

Black Sapphire: Protective and increases confidence in one's own intuition. This stone is said to help retain a job.

Green Sapphire: Said to aid dream recall and stimulate loyalty and integrity.

Yellow Sapphire: Attracts wealth and helps to increase prosperity and earnings.

SAPPHIRE HEALING

Sapphire is thought to calm an overactive body system and regulate the gland. It is also thought to help heal the eyes and improve vision. 

Sapphire is also said to treat blood disorders and alleviate excessive bleeding, strengthening veins and their elasticity. 

JEWELLERY DESIGNS WITH SAPPHIRE

As a precious stone sapphire makes any piece of jewellery high value. With a range of sapphire stones in stock including both faceted and cabochons as well as substitutes for sapphire at a lower price tag (but without the hardness), we are always on the lookout for inspirational jewellery designs using this amazing stone.

Take a look at some examples of sapphire jewellery designs you can easily make yourself below.

These pretty earstuds feature sapphire rose cut cabochons, glued into our milled edge earstud settings for cabochons.

We've created a beautiful rough sapphire bead bar necklace! Learn how to use this technique in our video tutorial here.

Backset settings are a great way to feature your chosen faceted stone!

A sapphire cabochon glued into a cabochon pendant setting, hung on a detailed figaro chain.

Make Your Own Birthstone Jewellery With Kernowcraft

Follow Jewellery Making Tutorials

Whether you want to learn about wire wrapping, soldering, stone setting or how to use metal clay - you'll find plenty of inspiration and projects to follow on our tutorial pages.

Beginner Jewellery Making Kits

Our jewellery making kits are the perfect way to find inspiration for your next make! Each kit has online step by step instructions and a shopping list, which you can easily customise with your favourite gemstones and supplies.

Resources:

• The Crystal Bible - Judy Hall
• Gemstones of The World - Walter Schumann
• Gemstones - Cally Oldershaw, Christine Woodward & Roger Harding