The history and origin of Star Sapphire

Sapphires are incredible gemstones.  They come in a wealth of attractive colors and have lots of positive attributes that have made them in demand since the dawn of civilization.  Sapphires are a gemstone that comes from Corundum.  Corundum is one of the hardest substances that form naturally on earth.  The only thing harder than the mineral Corundum is the diamond.

Star Sapphire is an ordinary Sapphire with a wonderful twist.  Corundum can sometimes have minute rutile inclusions.  These inclusions are usually angled at 120 degrees from one another when they are formed in normal hexagonal symmetry.  Some Sapphires are sufficiently dense with these rutile fibers and can be cut into specific shapes, usually a cabochon shape.  The cabochon shape is then cut specifically on the c axis of the Sapphire gemstone which is perpendicular to the base.  What happens is that now the rutile inclusions are concentrated at the top of the stone forming white lines.  These white lines actually intersect every 60 degrees, forming an asterism (six ray star).

Naturally forming Star Sapphires are usually more expensive, especially if the Star Sapphire is deep and rich in color.  Sapphires, as well as Star Sapphires can come in a variety of colors including most notably blue, but also green, colorless, orange, brown, purple and violet.

The word Sapphire comes from the Latin word saphirus meaning blue.  Sapphires and Star Sapphires were prized possessions of kings and queens.  They were used for talisman and for their perceived medicinal qualities.  It should be noted that red Sapphires do exist, however they have the privilege of being called Rubies.

What is Star Sapphire used for?

Star Sapphire is a wonderful gemstone that comes from Corundum.  Star Sapphire is similar to normal Sapphire except for the fact that it has special inclusions that can be cut in a certain way to give the gemstone an asterism or star shape.  While normal Sapphires are extremely attractive and sought after, Star Sapphires are usually rare when formed naturally and extremely valuable.

For the most part, Star Sapphires are only used for ornamental jewelry, however it should be noted that Corundum, the mineral that Star Sapphire come from is used in its common form for many industrial uses including abrasives.  There are other types of industrial uses that harness the hardness of this mineral, however they are very technical.  Star Sapphires are extremely hard and have a score of 9 on Moh’s hardness scale, they are the second hardest naturally forming substance in the world, next to diamonds.

Star Sapphires are beautiful stones that have inclusions of rutile.  These small fibers form in specific patterns that when cut in a special way give Sapphire a beautiful asterism or six ray star shape.

Star Sapphires come in many beautiful colors including blue, violet, gray, green, brown and orange.  Sapphires are the same mineral as Ruby; however Rubies specifically are red or pinkish red.

Most consumers generally love the look and effect that the Star Sapphire commands.  It is truly a wonderful looking stone.  However, it should be noted that synthetic Star Sapphire does exist.  You can usually spot it by it being too transparent and took perfect in shape and asterism effect.