Blue Beauties

The number one selling gemstone again this year at the jewelry trade’s biggest gem show held yearly in Tucson, AZ was blue sapphire! If you were lucky enough to be born in the month of September, this is your official birthstone. Sapphire is also the suggested gem gift for those celebrating their fifth and forty-fifth wedding anniversaries.

Sapphire, a variety of corundum, comes in all colors except red (the red variety is actually a ruby) but it is most popular in blue. Sapphire gets its color from titanium and iron oxides; the depth of color depends on the amount of oxides in the stone. As part of the customary fashioning process, virtually all blue sapphires are heated to permanently produce or intensify their color.

The main sources where sapphires are found are Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Australia and East Africa. Believe it or not, sapphires are also found and mined in Montana, USA – however that is not a main source.

The folklore associated with sapphires is that they were thought to clear the mind and the skin, cure fevers, colds, and ulcers. Marriage partners put great faith in the stone. If its luster dimmed, one knew his or her partner had been untrue. Sapphires refused to shine when worn by the wicked or impure. Sapphire is a longtime symbol and guardian of purity and it represents truth, sincerity, and consistency. Ancients believed the Ten Commandments were written on a sapphire tablet.

We have a lovely selection of sapphire jewelry and loose sapphire gemstones at Laney’s. Visit us soon! Find something to take home immediately or we will work with you to create a one-of-a-kind custom design that we can make especially for you.

 

Our Hours:
Tues-Fri  11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sat 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

5121 Center Street, Suite 103
Williamsburg, VA  23188
(757) 229-7333

 

 

American Gem Society

For generations of jewelers, those three simple words have embodied three complex ideas to which the society has always been dedicated:

  • Ethics

  • Knowledge

  • Consumer Protection