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Included as one of the four most precious stones, sapphire is usually used in jewelry and in decorations because of its variety of colors. The following are some facts about sapphires and sapphire jewelry.

• The name of many sapphire jewels depends on what color the stone is. In general, the color of sapphire is blue. Red sapphire is widely known as ruby, which is also one of the four precious stones. Pinkish-orange sapphire stone is referred as the padparadscha. This word means the lotus blossom. Sapphires colored differently than the color blue, red and pinkish-orange are called fancy sapphires.

• Blue sapphires are the most common of and considered the most expensive types of sapphires. The kind of blue sapphire that is usually celebrated all over the world contains less than 15% of the purple hue. This type of blue sapphires is considered the finest sapphires.

• The padparadscha or the pinkish-orange sapphire is commonly used for decorations. This type of sapphires is considered the “girly type of sapphires” since padparadschas is used for girly jewelries. Padparadscha are initially mined in Sri Lanka only. Nowadays, these pinkish-orange sapphires can also be found in Vietnam and Africa. The name of these colored sapphires that meant lotus blossom was derived from Sinhalese language, the dialect used by the largest Sri Lankan ethnic group.

• Like rubies, sapphires are originally mined in Sri Lanka. Kashmir, a northwestern region in the sub-continental Indian, is also considered as the best place to mine sapphires. Jewel miners can also find sapphires in every color and cut at the undergrounds of Madagascar, Australia, China, Myanmar and Thailand. In fact, Madagascar tops the list of the best sapphire productions.

• Sapphire is the birthstone of people who were born in the month of September. Folks who are under the zodiac signs Taurus and Virgo also favored the sapphire as their birthstone. Sapphire is also the stone used by couples or groups of people or companies that are celebrating the 15th and 45th anniversaries.

• In the ancient times, elders revered the sapphire stones because they believe the jewel stands for truth and genuineness. The sapphire stone is also considered as the precious stone that brings good luck and prosperity to the wearer.

• Cleaning sapphire stones is simple enough to do. You just need to soak the jewelry in lukewarm water with milk liquid soap and wait for at least ten minutes. After ten minutes, remove the jewelry in the solution and softly brush the stone to eradicate the dust. When you’re done cleaning the stone, simply rinse it with warm water and pat it using a soft cloth to dry.

• The National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. houses a staggering 422.99 carat Logan sapphire, which is recognized as one of the largest sapphires in the world.

• The word sapphire was derived from the Hebrew word “Sapir”. And this stone is also referred as the “Gem of the Heavens”.

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