The Rockefeller Sapphire

One of the most valuable sapphires ever, is known as the Rockefellar Sapphire. This sapphire was purchased at an undisclosed price in the year of 1934, by a man named John D. Rockefellar. This unique piece of jewelry is a 62.02 carat that is also a faceted blue sapphire. It is in a rectangular step …

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The Bismark Sapphire: An Object Of Incredible Beauty

Imagine a chunk of sapphire traveling upwards from 60-400 km deep inside the earth. Constant erosion over 500 million to two billion years’ ago eventually brought this stone to the earth’s surface in a river flood basin. Imagine too the wealthiest man in America on his honeymoon stopping in Sri Lanka with his new bride Mona. …

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Unique Star Sapphires

Star sapphires are a type of sapphire that shows a star-like pattern commonly known as asterism. It is a pattern that shows 6 lines that look like a star. There have been star sapphires that have 12 line making a starburst.Star sapphires vary in color from many different shades of blue, to orange, pink, yellow, …

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Treated Sapphires

Sapphires are formed in nature by a combination of pressure and intense heat applied onto the mineral corundum. This typically happens through volcanic activity. If the amount of heat applied to a sapphire is sufficient, the gemstone will be clear. However, nature’s forces are unpredictable, and typically most sapphires do not receive enough heat or …

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The Logan Sapphire

If you are a jewelry lover then you will most definitely fall in love with the Logan Sapphire. Known for its brilliance and size, this gem is truly a magnificent piece. Cut from a crystal it is one of the world’s largest blue sapphires. For a stone of this size it has exceptional color and …

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The Rockefeller Sapphire The Bismark Sapphire: An Object Of Incredible Beauty Unique Star Sapphires Treated Sapphires The Logan Sapphire

Oct
06

The Rockefeller Sapphire

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by Gemstones

Rockefeller Sapphire

Rockefeller Sapphire

One of the most valuable sapphires ever, is known as the Rockefellar Sapphire. This sapphire was purchased at an undisclosed price in the year of 1934, by a man named John D. Rockefellar. This unique piece of jewelry is a 62.02 carat that is also a faceted blue sapphire. It is in a rectangular step cut mounted in a diamond ring. This is just a very elegant sapphire to ever own. In 1988, it was first sold for $2.82 million, and then sold in the year of 2001 for much less. The value of this sapphire will never be forgotten.

Not all of the finest sapphires like this one are from Kashmir or Burma. Most of these have never even been offered at auction, and that is really amazing for some people knowing the type of value the rockefeller actually has. This sapphire has some really great history behind it. People who actually buy these sapphires don’t actually wear them because of how much they are worth. They are perfect for show, if you just want to keep around. They can be worn on occasion, but it is not an everyday piece of jewelry. Something that is worth this much is very hard, and rare to come across.

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Oct
04

The Bismark Sapphire: An Object Of Incredible Beauty

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The Bismark Sapphire Necklace

Imagine a chunk of sapphire traveling upwards from 60-400 km deep inside the earth. Constant erosion over 500 million to two billion years’ ago eventually brought this stone to the earth’s surface in a river flood basin. Imagine too the wealthiest man in America on his honeymoon stopping in Sri Lanka with his new bride Mona. Here the sapphires are famous for their red and orange fluorescence that can be seen in ultra violet light. The cornflower blue of this stunning piece must have not gone unnoticed.

A year later the jeweler Cartier had it re-cut in 1935. Designed in the Art Deco style of that period it is characterized in this priceless piece with bold, bright straight lines. The gem exhibits perfect clarity and proportions indicating that it was probably precision cut in the US or Europe. The large 98.6 carat sapphire is pendant mounted and encircled by baguette-cut diamonds and 8 small square cut sapphires positioned around the periphery of the setting. The Bismarck Sapphire Necklace is a stunning piece of sapphire jewelry that Mona von Bismarck donated to the Smithsonian Institute in 1967. Her husband died many years before she did and the honeymoon memories of their round the world cruise must have been reflected in this brilliant platinum, diamond and sapphire necklace. Now the entire world can view the awe-inspiring craftsmanship that reveals the beauty contained within the big blue stone.

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Sep
29

Unique Star Sapphires

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Black Star of Queensland

Black Star of Queensland

Star sapphires are a type of sapphire that shows a star-like pattern commonly known as asterism. It is a pattern that shows 6 lines that look like a star. There have been star sapphires that have 12 line making a starburst.Star sapphires vary in color from many different shades of blue, to orange, pink, yellow, green, gray to even The largest known star sapphire is the Black Star of Queensland. It is 733 carats. Another large star sapphire is the Star of India and weighs in at over 500 carats.

It is believed that in ancient times a star sapphire was a gemstone to guide for travelers. In Sri Lanka a star sapphire over 50 carats was found and is now on display at the Smithsonian in Washington. Star sapphires are almost always round or oval shaped so the star like pattern is best seen. Most star sapphires are mined in India and in that region.

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Sep
27

Treated Sapphires

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Sapphires

Sapphires

Sapphires are formed in nature by a combination of pressure and intense heat applied onto the mineral corundum. This typically happens through volcanic activity. If the amount of heat applied to a sapphire is sufficient, the gemstone will be clear. However, nature’s forces are unpredictable, and typically most sapphires do not receive enough heat or are not exposed to heat long enough to become clear on their own.

Commercial heat treatment allows jewelers to turn low-quality cloudy sapphires into high-quality clear sapphires without chemically altering the gemstone. Sapphires that possess only a small portion of cloudiness are often not subjected to heat treatment, as a minute amount of cloudiness is considered acceptable to most jewelers and consumers.

Multiple heat treatments can be used to clarify larger sapphires. Multiple treatments are also used on special “Geuda Sapphires”, which are exceptionally cloudy and ugly, but become a beautiful pale blue after being exposed to massive amounts of heat. This blue colored gemstone, called a Ceylon Blue Sapphire, is not found in nature but still sells for large amounts.

A heat-treated sapphire is still considered to be all-natural, since heat can be found in nature and is part of the process that creates the sapphire in the first place. No radiation or chemicals are used in the process.

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Sep
23

The Logan Sapphire

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The Logan Sapphire Brooch

The Logan Sapphire Brooch

If you are a jewelry lover then you will most definitely fall in love with the Logan Sapphire. Known for its brilliance and size, this gem is truly a magnificent piece. Cut from a crystal it is one of the world’s largest blue sapphires. For a stone of this size it has exceptional color and clarity and many marvel at this piece because it stands on its own. Some of the gemstones that have been cut can weigh up to several hundred carats.

Because of its size and weight it is one of the larger stones in a setting.  This stone historically comes from Sri Lanka and Burma and is one of the heaviest mounted gems at 422.99 carats. This gem is framed in a brooch setting, with twenty round brilliant-cut diamonds surrounding it, totaling 16 carats. You can view this wonderous piece at the Smithsonian Institute where it was gifted to them in 1960.

How many times have you ever wondered what an unique stone or gem would look like? If so this is the one to look at more closely and admire. From any angle it shines brightly and it is unlike any other you have ever seen. This is truly a wonderful piece to behold. It is displayed to showcase it’s briliance and blue color and you will be amazed at how spectacular this gemstone really is.

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Aug
30

Colored Sapphires

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by Aimee

Colorful Sapphires

When most people hear the word “sapphire”, they automatically think of a sparkling, deep blue gem.  As you probably know, however, sapphires actually come in a variety of colors – including pink, yellow, and orange.

Sapphires and their cousin, the ruby, are both types of corundum, a crystalline mineral.  Because of this, sapphires and rubies are often found in very close proximity to one another.  While blue is the most common color and considered standard, frequently found secondary hues include violet and green.  Blue sapphires with a hint of violet are considered to be of the finest quality, while greenish-blue sapphires are not as coveted.

Pink sapphires are highly coveted and have become increasinglyular in recent years.  Orange and yellow are also valuable types, and a certain kind of orange sapphire, the pink-orange padparadscha, is extremely rare, valuable,

and coveted, moreso than the most beautiful violet-blue sapphires.  Another rare sapphire, the color-change sapphires, appears to change color depending on the light.  These rare sapphires can go from colors as subtle as blue to bluish-violet or as striking as from pink to green under special kinds of light.

Star sapphires are a very unusual kind of gem themselves – they aren’t usually cut and polished like regular sapphires, but have their own unique feature.  They appear to have a six-pointed star embedded in the stone.  Like other sapphires, synthetic jewelry exists for star sapphires.

There’s also such a thing as a clear sapphire, which is occasionally used to replace diamonds in fine jewelry.  And finally, sapphires are often treated to improve color through heating the gems as well as other methods.

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Aug
24

Crystal Power!

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by Aimee

Emerald-Cut Rock Crystal Ring from Gemvara

Crystals are beautiful, both as decorations in the home and as jewelry to wear.   Like many, you might have a stunning crystal decoration in your house.  I myself have a pair of crystal earrings, found at a garage sale, that I cherish.  But what do you really know about crystals?

“Crystal” is a pretty vague term to begin with – any kind of mineral rock that has a crystalline (regular & repetitive) structure can be called a crystal.  Quartz are the most common kind of crystal and you’re probably familiar with them; there are slight variations between different kinds of quartz, such as rose quartz.  Diamonds are technically crystals, the hardest kind found in nature.  Rubies and Sapphires are crystals, too.  Manufacturers of crystal figurines will cut glass a certain way and coat it with a special kind of paint to reflect light.

People throughout the ages and into the modern era have believed that crystals have mystical properties; some believe they are able to heal.  As a result, crystals are popular objects in many video games, movies, and in Japanese anime.  In the TV show Sailor Moon, a powerful crystal is a major focus of the series and is often used by the main character to heal others.  Video games have characters running around, collecting crystals; there’s even an old PC game called “Crystal Caverns” where, you guessed it, you get to run around collecting all sorts of crystals.    Fantasy series often feature magical crystals as powerful and important objects.  People clearly have a fascination with the stones!

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Aug
12

Heart-shaped jewelry

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by Aimee

Heart Necklace

Although I’ve talked about symbolic jewelry recently, I’d like to talk more about heart-shaped jewelry.  Heart-shaped jewelry has risen steadily in popular over the years, and it’s not just appropriate for Valentine’s day any more.  While it’s a great gift to give your sweetheart on any occasion, buying it for yourself or gifting it to a friend is great too; it can show off the fun, cute, caring, or romantic aspect of your personality, in addition to being a personal token of affection from someone else.

If you want something subtle, try wearing small heart stud earrings or a ring with a heart-shaped stone set in it.  Hearts come along with a lot of other popular themes too – charm bracelets with a single heart-shaped charm dangling from them, heart-shaped padlocks and even keys with heart stones set in them or tops that are shaped like hearts.  I actually have a bracelet made up of single silver, heart-shaped links, with a single small pink sapphire heart gem charm attached.  I also recently saw a ring featuring a large pink sapphire heart surrounded by smaller cubic zirconia that were also shaped like hearts.  Some people just can’t get enough hearts!

If you want to get something heart-shaped for your sweetheart, but don’t want to go too big too fast, I recommend getting a larger, heart-shaped pendant on a necklace or a bracelet with heart-shaped links or charms.  As a general rule, avoid things like padlock or key necklaces and especially rings with hearts on them.  Earrings are also really nice!

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Aug
07

Crystal and mineral jewelry

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by Aimee

Agate slice necklace from Urban Outfitters

As a child, I remember being obsessed with gems.  My dad would take me to shops selling cheap rocks like quartz and petrified wood for only a few cents, while I admired the larger, rare crystals and petrified wood pieces my parents owned.  I even bought a geode, one of those ugly, round grey rocks you smash open to reveal glittering, clear crystals.  I loved all the colors that seemed to exist in these stones, along with their exquisite natural geometry.  So I was delighted to see these same unusual rocks, overlooked in jewelry for so long, starting to become popular items on necklaces, rings and bracelets.

The idea here is usually to have something very rough and raw, almost mystical looking, so much like the stones I used to buy from rare rock merchants.  It really doesn’t matter what your style is, either: these gorgeous rocks add something spectacular to a simple, utilitarian outfit, fit in comfortably with a bohemian look, and even add some magical to a romantic date outfit.  Crystal slices make even mass-produced necklaces unique, as they’re all necessarily different.  Molten metal and pyrite on a heavy hammered gold ring conjure up images of fire, while simple crystal pendants add something very mystical and soothing to your outfit.  Some popular pieces are simply chunks of rocks like moonstone or agate, misshapen and partially unhewn from grey stone, set on a modest ring band.  The stones are heavy, but every single one is unique and sends a clear message: nature is beautiful on its own, so why cut it up more than necessary?

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Aug
01

Symbolic Jewelry: What do jewelry symbols means?

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by Aimee

A wonderful way to display your personality or show someone special you care about them is with symbolic jewelry.  Almost everyone has a symbol they feel drawn to; you probably have a friend with a star-shaped tattoo, or know someone who tends to wear a lot of moon-shaped jewelry.  What do these symbols mean?  Let’s take a brief look at some common themes and symbols that pop up in jewelry design a lot.

Hearts: This is, of course, a classic.  Some of the most popular pieces featuring hearts include heart-shaped padlock necklaces, simple heart stud earrings, and heart-shaped rings.  Heart-shaped jewelry given as a gift is a great way to literally and metaphorically show someone you’re giving them your heart, and heart-shaped jewelry gifted by someone you love is always very meaningful.

Heart padlock & key necklace from Gemvara

Moons and stars: People that feel a strong connection to space, astronomy, or astrology and the mythical may have a place in their heart for these space-related symbols.  Moons and stars are popular jewelry themes for starry-eyed dreamers, as well as people who see magic at work in the world.

Lotuses:  The lotus is a popular symbol in Buddhism that has been catching on more and more in the west.  Aside from simply being a beautiful and unique flower, the lotus symbolizes the progress of the soul rising into enlightenment.  It can also symbolize purity and renewal.

Butterflies: Butterflies symbolize transformation and rebirth.  Because of this, butterfly tattoos and symbolic jewelry are very popular.

Nature themes: those who feel a strong connection to nature might prefer rougher-looking, more matte metals, with darker green gems and themes like leaves or rough, uncut rocks and gems.  The idea is to capture the beauty of nature without creating something that appears too artificial and man-made.

Birds and feathers: bird-shaped jewelry and bird-related themes, such as wings or feathers, generally symbolize someone who is a free spirit.  Feather-shaped jewelry has been quite popular lately.

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