Natural sapphires never go out of fashion. Sapphire can occur in a variety of colors and is prized for its excellent hardness and durability. At 9 on Mohs scale of mineral hardness, it is the second hardest natural material on earth. Sapphire belongs to the 'precious four', along with ruby, emerald and diamond. Blue is the traditional sapphire color, while all other colors are referred to as 'fancy' color sapphire (except red). Sapphire is gem-quality corundum, the same material which makes up that of fine red ruby. Sapphire is famed for its brilliance and luster; and owed to its versatility and durability, it is indeed one of the most valuable and wearable of all colored gemstones. The name 'corundum' originates from 'kuruvindam', an ancient Sanskrit word; while the name 'sapphire' comes from the Persian word 'safir'.
Sapphire gems can be found in a variety of shapes and cuts, including faceted gems, carvings and cabochons. Square sapphires are usually faceted, but occasionally are offered as cabochons. One of the more popular cuts for square-shaped sapphire is the 'princess-cut'. This type of cut maximizes brilliance and is often given to small melee sapphires for use as accent or side-stones. Natural sapphires are quite rare, especially untreated fine quality sapphire. Most sapphire is enhanced through routine heat-treatment to improve color and clarity, though many sapphires can be found completely untreated. Unlike oval sapphires and round sapphires, square sapphires are not usually found in larger sizes. In fact, most will find it difficult to source any square-shaped sapphire over 1 carat in weight. Sapphires are seen as the guardians of love. When given as a gift, sapphires are believed to enhance love and harmonize the souls.
Certified Customer Reviews
Overall Rating -> 9
always happy with professional service and emailing when Ive needed to ask a question.
The website is very easy to use, easy to find by color, calibrated size, etc. Easy checkout with PayPal (many gem merchants do not accept this payment form). Uses standardized clarity scale, etc.
The selection of gemstones is absolutely amazing! The pictures allow you to get important angles of each individual stone and, from what I see, there aren't any just standard photos used unless there are duplicates of very small stones- which is completely understandable. They tend to describe their reasoning too.
I purchased another kyanite'the intense color saturation of this stone is incredible. The quality was as described and pictured in the photos. Always happy with my purchases!
Completely would recommend this company to any gem collector, jewelry store, or someone looking for a gemstone to repair their jewelry. There is an abundance of choices at great prices! If you don’t see what you need exactly the customer service department will go above and beyond to meet your needs. Shipping is very reasonable! The gemstones always arrive well before the expected arrival date. This company has very high standards of meeting their customers needs! They are the number 1 company I go to when looking for any gemstone. They are also very detailed in their descriptions so there is no confusion at all as what you are purchasing! Highly recommended!!!!
I really am pleased with Gem Select! I have found that most jewelry stores sell lab created stones and I prefer earth stones. Then I have the pleasure of designing my own jewelry to suit me personally! I highly recommend this site1
