Eos Silver

Sapphire

Sapphires along with rubies belong to the corundum family and are amongst the hardest minerals on the planet. The origin of its name still has not been completely clarified since sapphires were called lapis lazuli right up into the Middle Ages. Today, all corundum stones that are not red are called sapphires. Red sapphires are called rubies. There is no exact differentiation between sapphires and rubies.

Titanium and iron are the substances that give the blue sapphires their colour, whereby it is the cornflower blue sapphires that are particularly highly valued. Vanadium lends sapphires their violet hue and inclusions of chrome are responsible for the delicate pink colouring. Yellow and green sapphires contain high proportions of trivalent iron.

Sapphires are often heat treated at temperatures of around 1,700-1,800 °C to intensify the colour and remove inclusions.

In terms of gemstone ranking, sapphires count among the most highly esteemed and most noble of stones and it is especially the untreated gems that are in particularly high demand.