September Birthstone, Discover the Elegance of Sapphire

Sapphires, along with rubies and emeralds, are the world’s most prized coloured gemstones. As a variety of the mineral corundum, they are commonly associated with a true-blue colour that ranges from a subtle ‘cornflower’ sky blue to a bright royal blue. Perhaps the most iconic example of the September birthstone is Princess Diana’s 18 carat sapphire and diamond cluster engagement ring, which is now worn by the Duchess of Cambridge Catherine Middleton.

What many don’t know is that sapphires occur in a rainbow of colours and can be found in all corners of the world, from Australia and Cambodia to the United States, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka. The only colour sapphire does not occur in is red, as all red corundum is known across the globe as ruby.

While blue sapphires are some of the most valuable, there are other colours that are incredibly rare and hard to find. The best example of this is padparadscha sapphire, which refers to a specific peachy pink or pale orange sapphire colour. A beautiful real-life version can be seen in Princess Eugenie of York’s padparadscha sapphire engagement ring set in a cluster-style with white diamonds.

As well as being a romantic choice for jewellery, sapphires are also a timeless option for rings, gemstone earrings and pendants because of their incredible hardness and ability to resist scratches. For this reason, sapphires are often used as the striking and colourful centre stone in engagement rings. Look to actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her sapphire and diamond halo engagement ring or Penelope Cruz’s vintage-inspired sapphire and diamond cluster engagement ring with a classic bezel setting for inspiration.

The gift of sapphire jewellery has long been said to represent loyalty, honesty and trust in relationships. In the Middle Ages, sapphires were thought to represent the heavens and were revered as symbols of power and strength. As the traditional gift of a 45th wedding anniversary, sapphires are connected to decades of unity and are a beautiful way of declaring the timelessness of emotions between romantic partners and close family members.

Some of the most famous royal blue sapphires in history came from Kashmir in India, but that source stopped producing gems more than 120 years ago. Beautiful bright blue sapphires mined in Sri Lanka are sometimes referred to as ‘Ceylon’ sapphires, as this was how the country was known before 1972. There is an allure to sapphire jewellery that has existed for generations, but now more jewellery lovers are turning to coloured sapphires, like yellow, pink, green and orange, to reflect their individual personalities.