Sapphires come from EBay. Duh. Or, they come from Princess Diana’s engagement ring now worn by Kate Middleton. They come from skilled seduction Romeos, guilty husbands or sneaky chamber maids. Or, maybe the question means from where in nature do sapphires come?
Generally, they are formed in the throats of volcanoes, as most crystalline minerals. They begin as a mere inclusion of crystal in igneous rock. The crystals grow in a bi-pyramidal and hexagonal system to become corundum crystals which slowly make their way from the mine, to the EBay auction, to seductive master lover who becomes a rotten spouse, then to the sneaky chamber maid who is cheating with the guilty husband. Mineralogy might be boring if not for the illicit sex, one presumes.
Corundum, when blue in hue, is called sapphire, from the Greek. When corundum is red, it is known as ruby. Both rubies and sapphires come in a wide range of shades. They are among the most rare or gemstones and are mined in Thailand, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and India and Burma, as well in a handful of other localities around the world.
The stones have been prized for thousands of years, and are more rare than white diamonds. The colors and intensity of hue, as well as some of what makes lovers swoon, is the play of light known as “silk”. This captures some of the frozen fire of the rare minerals captured in the crystallization process. Among these minerals are titanium, aluminum, chromium and iron in the case of sapphires.
When a rutile is introduced into the crystallization process, the rare formation of a six ray point star burst occurs. This is called an asterism, at the center of a sapphire cabochon. By the successful, gifted, Lothario it is called the sparkle of “my true love’s bright eyes.” Gemstones as rare as ruby and sapphire form so rarely in nature, that technology eventually caught up in time to produce believable fakes, presumably so that more love affairs could be fueled by the sparkle and cost of gems.
Today, these lab created sapphires are often set in gold and silver, but to produce, they are not too costly at all. They are just as beautiful, but without flaws or inclusions, they are no more special than cheap reality show indiscretions. Then, there are natural stones which are color enhanced by radiation, or heat. These are called treated stones, and although not as fake as lab created, they are not as rare as a naturally occurring cornflower blue sapphires formed naturally, and found in Sri Lanka.
Sapphires are linked to kings, popes, shamans, serious classy Trump types, and glamorous dames from Helen of Troy to Queen Victoria to Penelope Cruz.
They offer beauty, mystery, intrigue and drama. Thankfully, for drama lovers, when ever something as rare as a breathtaking, sapphire, ruby or inordinately rare diamond jewel shows up, the sinking of the Titanic cannot be far behind.
