Consider Star Sapphires when you want to Buy Sapphires

Published: 27th June 2011
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Sapphires have been the most expensive gems in the world for centuries now. Because of their great hues, they have been worn by kings and queens and royals and have features on crown jewels. A very good example was the imperial crown of Iran's Pahlavi dynasty, the last dynasty that was in charge of Iran; the crown features a twenty carat sapphire and is one of the top tourist attractions in the museum today. there is also a sapphire brooch that was highly valued in the Imperial Russian Court, a brooch that has over 260 sapphire carats and which are surrounded by over 55 diamond carats.

While people buy sapphires because of their deep azure hue, they are also much loved because of the color variations available in the market today. You can find not only a blue sapphire but also white and/ or pink and as if that is not enough, don’t be surprised when you buy sapphires to find them changing their color as per the lighting in the room. Thus making sapphire jewelry a great wear especially on formal dinner night outs or in restaurants where there are changing colors. One of the most notable and fascinating sapphires is the highly regarded star sapphire.



A star sapphire, as the name would suggest, is a star-shaped gem that displays a six-pointed star thanks to intersecting inclusions. Once you buy sapphires and lit them from above, you will see the inclusions are very visible and will display the star shape. You will find the most attractive star sapphires in the Smithsonian Institute, the highly celebrated Star of Bombay which boasts over 182 carats in size.

As is with any other type of gem today, when you are buying sapphires, you should know that its quality is depended on various factors. The color, the size, and the clarity are all important factors that determine the value of your gemstone. The inclusions (the star sapphire has 6 thin intersections), which are made of rutile, will also contribute to the value of your sapphire, so you should also know that when you want to buy sapphires.

If you find a very apparent star, then you can expect it to be of great value. On the flip side, when the inclusions are murky or less visible to a point of not outlining the 'star' as it should, you can be rest assured that it will not be nearly as valuable. If you have ever bought gems before, you will know that it is common practice to use techniques such as heating to alter or deepen the color of gem.


The same techniques are also applied in an effort to increase the degree of exposure of the inclusions in star sapphire. Living at a time where there are color-changing techniques and so many lab-created gems, many gemstone collectors and jewelers a like hold very strong feelings regarding these enhancement techniques. There are those who when they buy sapphires they feel that the techniques are OK as they improve on the beauty of the gems.

Others however are so much against the practices and believe that naturally occurring stunning stones are much better than their synthesized counterparts. It is important to keep in mind that even when it comes to star sapphires, it takes a very keen eye under the microscope to tell whether the piece is heat treated or not.

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