Sapphire Ceylon	Pink Sapphire	Yellow Sapphire	Bicolored Corundum

Birthstone for September.  Ancient people believed that the power of wisdom is contained within this precious gemstone. They believed that when the wearer of a sapphire faces challenging obstacles, the stone's power enables them to find the correct solution. The modern word sapphire is derived from the ancient Latin term "Sapphirus".

Sapphires come in all spectrums of color, except for red (referred as ruby). Often when people refer to sapphires, they mean blue sapphires. Other color sapphires are referred to as fancy sapphires. Australia and Africa are the world's largest suppliers of blue sapphires. Sri Lanka also provides a large portion of the world's supply of blue sapphires. Gemstones from this island are often called "Ceylon" sapphires, which was the name of the island before it was changed to Sri Lanka. Pailin, Cambodia, is another source of exceptional blue sapphires. Burma is also known for their top quality supply of this gemstone.

With hardness just below that of diamonds, sapphires are one of the toughest gemstones, and with no cleavage, breakage rarely occurs. Intense medium dark blue is the most sought after color for blue sapphires. However, very fine sapphires are extremely rare. Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Burma produce very fine pure blue sapphires, although Cambodian sapphires are sometimes slightly dark. Intensity, uniformity and purity of color are the most important considerations when making a decision about the purchase of a blue sapphire. Fine blue sapphires should not contain any overtones or secondary colors, for this will lessen the beauty of this precious gemstone. As the overall beauty of the stone will depend on the cutting, this characteristic must always be taken into consideration.