Worried about how to choose right sapphires for your engagement ring? Sapphires are the second most valuable and most popular gemstones after diamonds. Therefore, choosing the right sapphire requires different considerations like 4Cs, price, and future value. Sayabling Rings presents a wide variety of elegant, beautiful, and affordable sapphire engagement rings for both men and women.
In this blog, we will discuss sapphires’ historical value and some useful tips for choosing the right sapphires engagement ring.
Historical Significance of Sapphires
The history of Sapphires is centuries old and highlights their importance in ancient times. Roman, Greeks, and other ancient people mined and sold them for higher prizes while they also used them during worship.
They used them to embellish sculptures, perform cultural and religious rituals, and considered them a token of good luck. In the 1800s, they were recognized as beautiful and valuable gemstones for wearing as jewelry. The first sapphire mines were found in Kashmir in 1880 which led to the beginning of the sapphire era.
While deciding on the right and suitable sapphire, follow the given tips:
Focus on Quality of Sapphires
The quality of sapphires is an important consideration while investing in sapphires. The quality of sapphires is based on the 4Cs and their origin whether it is natural or lab created. Let’s discuss the 4Cs of sapphires:
What is the 4Cs of Sapphires
The 4Cs refer to Color, Cut, Clarity, and Carat weight which helps in understanding the value and quality of the sapphires. A sapphire rich in these parameters is considered the most valuable sapphire. Let’s understand each parameter one by one:
1. Color
The color of sapphire is the most important parameter described by three attributes or properties i.e. hues, tones, and saturation. Hues refer to the color of the sapphire, tones refer to the measure of lightness and darkness of the gemstone.
Saturation means the intensity of the hue or color of sapphires that determines different colored sapphires. The right and high-quality sapphire is rich in color and its color is evenly distributed giving an elegant sparkle or shine.
2. Cut
Cut refers to the craftsmanship of a jeweler to transform a sapphire into an elegant shape or symmetry. It’s the most noticeable factor for any sapphire that impacts its elegance and value. The more beautiful the cut is, the more valuable is the sapphire.
3. Clarity
Each naturally occurring sapphire contains some inclusions or imperfections like color zones, and some other structural patterns affecting their spark. Sapphires must be clear from these imperfections that interfere with the passage of light so that they can give an eternal shine.
5. Carat Weight
Carat weight refers to the weight of sapphire measured in Carat. This is less significant than the other parameters and is decided at the end. But it is associated with the pricing of the sapphire as the price of sapphire increases with the increase in size. Significant size does not matter until you want a large-sized sapphire, especially for solitaire ring settings.
Therefore, sapphire engagement rings rich in all these 4Cs are the most valuable, high-quality, and priceless making unforgettable moments.
Understand Natural vs Lab Created Sapphire
Another factor, whether are they mined from the earth or synthesized artificially in labs, helps in determining the quality of sapphires. Natural sapphires are produced under the earth’s surface with extreme pressure and heat and then mined from the earth’s surface.
Conversely, lab created or grown sapphires possess the same properties but are less costly as compared to the rare natural sapphires. So the only main difference is the price of these precious gems. Lab sapphires continue to depreciate with time while natural sapphires’ prices increase continuously making them a good financial investment.
Learn more about natural and lab created sapphires: Natural vs Lab Created Sapphire
Identify Authentic Sapphires
Once you have selected a sapphire, you must verify its authenticity by checking if it is real or not. There are four ways to check:
1. Check for Blemishes
Natural sapphires are produced under the earth’s surface with extreme heat and pressure so they have some imperfections or blemishes. While lab created sapphires are synthesized in the lab by cloning the same natural process but speeding it up. Lab created sapphires are flawless doesn’t contain blemishes b and fake sapphires contain air bubbles.
2. Scratch Test
Sapphires are the second hardest gemstones with a score of 9/10 on the Mohs scale so they are scratch-resistant. But on scratching with a key or coin, if they leave a mark on the stone, this is the fake sapphire.
3. Light Test
Turn off the lights in the room and put the flashlight on the sapphire stone if it reflects other colors along the color of the sapphire, it is fake.
4. Breath Test
Just breathe on the sapphire stone, if it is un-fogged within a second or two, it is the real sapphire. Otherwise, it is fake if takes longer to un-fog than a second or so.
These are some tests to perform to verify the authenticity of your sapphire. Moreover, certifications and grading reports are also used for verification of authenticity.
Certifications and Grading Reports
Certifications and grading reports from trusted labs are also essential for verifying the authenticity of sapphires. They help in the examination of sapphire’s properties and characteristics making them more valuable and insurable. The following information we can get from the grading reports:
- Name, Type, and Originality of the sapphire
- Physical attributes like weight in carat, hardness, picture of sapphire
- Color and information about any treatment
Here are some trusted bodies for certification and grading reports of sapphires:
- Swiss Gemological Institute
- GemResearch Swisslab
- Gemological Institute of America
- Lotus Gemology
Conclusion
Sapphires are precious gemstones, and nothing is more disheartening than getting a fake sapphire when paying for a real one. In this blog, we discussed how to choose the right sapphires for you without getting fooled by gemologists. By following our guide, you will be able to make a wise decision for a good future financial investment.
FAQs
Where are the best sapphires found?
The best sapphires are found in Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Kashmir. Kashmir’s stones are the most valuable of all.
Are sapphires easy to damage?
No, sapphires are highly durable gemstones due to their hard nature. They cannot be damaged but can be scratched if interact with hard materials like diamonds or other sharp materials. So we must take care of them carefully.
How to tell if a sapphire is real?
Natural or real sapphires include some blemishes or inclusions like color zones, structured patterns while lab sapphires include air bubbles. You can check if a sapphire is real or not by the scratch test, light test, and breath test.
How to check sapphire quality?
Sapphire’s quality can be checked using the 4Cs for the gemstones. A sapphire rich in color, clarity, cut, and carat weight is a high-quality sapphire. Color is the most prominent property of a sapphire.