Ceylon Sapphires
Blue Sapphires! Who doesn’t love them or want to cherish them? Known as the gemstone of the heavens, the lovely blue of this precious stone remind one of the cornflower blue of the skies and the heavens up above. Although sapphires come in many colors, it’s the sapphires from Sri Lanka that are stunningly beautiful and has come to be one of the most sought after gemstones in the world today.
Sapphires are known to be found in many countries and Kashmir is long known for this precious gemstone, although its resources have long since been exhausted. Originally found in Sri Lanka, earlier known as “Ceylon”, the most beautiful, and revered sapphires are found in Sri Lanka and anyone who has knowledge of gems will know at once that there’s nothing to beat the pedigree of the genuine Ceylon Sapphires.
Although everyone tends to think of sapphires only as blue, this is not so because this precious stone comes in all colors of the rainbow and even in colors of the sunset which is a special kind of sapphire known as the “padparadcha” sapphire. Its colors range from red, to pink to orange, and calls for a very high price with the Padparacha now becoming even more in demand than the all time favorite blue Ceylon sapphires.
Even genuine gemstones are treated to enhance their clarity and color and the sapphire is no different. However, in the case of the Sapphires from Sri Lanka, there is only one treatment that has been approved and this goes back to over 2,000 years where heat treatment was carried out in ovens. The stones are subjected to very high temperatures to intensify their color and the more fragile stones get broken during this process, leaving only the tough and survivable stones ready for the market. Do not be deceived by talks of heat treated stones being of no real value. In fact, Sapphires from Sri Lanka are 99% of the time heat treated and this is a perfectly acceptable arrangement that has been going on for thousands of years. It definitely does not lessen the value of the stone and only makes it more attractive and durable in the long term. Keep in mind, the only way a sapphire can be truly distinguished as untreated is when it comes with a certified authentic document from a reputed gem lab; in which case that particular gem will cost twice or even more times the price of a so called unheated gem without an authentic certificate.
When buying Sapphires, the price will depend on color, clarity, cut and carat, with Ceylon Sapphires being more expensive than those from other countries. Even those from Sri Lanka will be priced according to their demand, with the pinky orange Padparadha calling for a very high price followed by the blue sapphire. Different shades of blue also calls for different prices with the light cornflower blue being more expensive than the deeper blues. Pricing of Ceylon Sapphires are also not that simple, meaning; just because a 1ct sapphire is priced at $1,200, it does not necessarily mean, a 2ct gemstone will be double its price. The price would most likely be 4-6 times higher than that of the 1ct sapphire.
It does not matter what carat your Ceylon Sapphire is. Even if you buy the tiniest gemstone, treasure it and care for it and when you are not wearing it just watch it sparkle and dance in the sunlight because it’s truly a gemstone of the heavens.