The Sunday Times: Issue #28

September is a month I look forward to every year for several reasons- the cooling temps, the arrival of Fall, but most of all - it's Sapphire Month! Those of you lucky enough to be born during September have the most supreme of gemstones to claim as your birthstone. Others may disagree, but I'll lay out my argument in this week's issue as to why it is my favorite to source, design with, and stare at!

So pour yourself a cup of tea and get comfy.

"Sapphire produces peace of mind and equanimity. It chases out evil thoughts by establishing healthy circulation. It opens barred doors to the spirit. It produces a desire for prayer. It brings peace, but he who would wear it must lead a pure and holy life."

- Buddhist saying, quoted in "The Symbolism of Color" (1921)

5 REASONS TO LOVE SAPPHIRES

AND WHY I LOVE TO WORK WITH THEM

In order for me to want to work with a gemstone, it needs to meet a few criteria. First, I need to be able to source it responsibly, so it needs to be mineable in a region with adequate safety and regulations. Second, it needs to come in the colors that I like to work with. I don't love the color of amethyst or red garnet, so you'll rarely see those stones in my work. Third, it needs to be hard enough to be durable to wear and on the easier side to set. Some stones like opals are gorgeous, but are on the softer side, so I'll only set them if it's a very rare or outrageous stone. Fourth, it needs to have some sort of interesting quality like refraction, inclusions, or opalescence. Stones that light up or sparkle speak to me. Lastly, it needs to fall within my budget. Because, let's be real.

Let's go through each of these below.

1. RESPONSIBLY SOURCED

SAPPHIRES CAN BE RESPONSIBLY SOURCED

Many of the sapphires that I source come from ANZA gems (credit to them for the above photo). You might remember their spotlight in the Sunday Times Issue 2, but here is a quick recap- founded by Monica Stephenson, ANZA gems creates a transparent and traceable supply chain from East Africa to jewelers. They oversee every step of the journey of the rough to ensure that responsible practices are followed and that everyone involved is compensated, educated, and respected. The sapphires they source come from Tanzania, but sapphires are mined in many other places. Other sapphires that I source come from Montana, from dealers like Lewis & Clark, as well as from Australia, from dealers like Capricorn Gems, to Madagascar and Sri Lanka, from dealers like Caleb Quashen.

2. COLOR RANGE

Photo: Anza Gems

SAPPHIRES COME IN A RAINBOW OF COLORS

Before I became a jeweler, my only references for a sapphire were the Heart Of The Ocean and Princess Diana's ring - both in that deep royal blue hue. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that there were green sapphires! And pink sapphires! And opalescent, cloudy white sapphires! The list goes on because they truly emerge from the mines and alluvial deposits in every hue you can imagine.

The color of the sapphire depends on the trace amounts of different chemical elements, such as iron, titanium, chromium, and vanadium, within the corundum mineral's crystalline structure. These elements disrupt the crystal, causing light to be absorbed in specific ways and reflect different colors, creating the wide spectrum, from blue (iron and titanium) to pink (chromium), yellow (iron), and violet (vanadium). Beyond that, a stone can also be heated after it has been mined to change or intensify its color.

Different mine locations are known for the color of sapphires they produce based on the chemical elements found in that area. So when you see a sapphire like Princess Diana's, you can guess that it might come from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Or when you see a pastel, cloudier blue sapphire, you might guess Montana. Or a yellow green or dark green-blue often comes out of Australia. Once you get the hang of recognizing these characteristics it can be fun to guess sapphire locations!

Fun fact- did you know that if you find a sapphire that is a certain shade of red, it's not a sapphire but a ruby? They are both corundums (a type of mineral) with color being the only distinction!

3. DURABILITY

SAPPHIRES ARE HARD

While diamonds are famously the hardest gem (nothing else even comes close), sapphires rank second, making them a very hard stone compared to others. What does it mean to be "hard" in gemstone speak? According to the GIA, "The hardness of a stone indicates the stone’s resistance to scratching or how the surface of the gem will respond to contact with a sharp point." Overtime, a piece of jewelry will come in contact with so many surfaces that its gemstone can lose its shine and luster if the surface of the gem scratches easily. Even microscopic scratches, when added up, will make a stone duller. The above scale, called the Mohs Scale, ranks the hardness of popular stones.

In addition to being a hard stone, sapphires are also "tough," meaning they don't chip or break easily when impacted because they don't have cleavage. Cleavage is an inherent plane of weakness in the crystalline structure that makes a stone easy to split along that plane.

Fun fact, the earliest diamond cutting was just carefully breaking them along their planes of cleavage.

4. INTEREST

SAPPHIRES AREN'T BORING!

If I'm quickly walking up and down the aisles of a gem show and a stone catches my eye and stops me in my tracks, chances are it's a sapphire.

They are sparkly (high refractive index), they are glowy (silky inclusions), they have stars (asterism), they have multiple colors in one stone (parti sapphires), and they have opalescence (light scattering), just to name a few of their characteristics.

A common response to the photos of sapphires I post online are "WOW, that looks like it contains an entire ecosystem!" And it's true! Peering inside a sapphire can often transport you to another galaxy, one full of rainbows and sparkles and glowing beings of light.

5. AFFORDABILITY

SAPPHIRES ARE ATTAINABLE (FOR NOW)

Price can be a tricky topic to speak on since it's always changing, but for the most part, sapphires are more affordable per carat than a diamond. They are at the top range of the gemstones I source in terms of price, but they make a fantastic alternative to a diamond if you are looking to buy a piece of jewelry that you will wear everyday like an engagement ring. Generally speaking, a quality, responsibly sourced sapphire will retail around $1,200-$3,000 per carat. Compare that to a diamond, which according to The Loose Diamonds Search Engine, averaged around $9,429 per carat in May of 2025.

IN CONCLUSION

You really can't go wrong with a sapphire. Whether it's for a ring, a necklace, or earrings, you'll find such a wide range of available color options from responsible dealers that you'll end up with a piece that is much more unique and ethical than you might otherwise think. And, because they are so durable, you won't have to worry about wearing them everyday, which is the point of jewelry anyway, right?