The sapphire in green
The word sapphire comes from the Greek for blue. For a long time, only blue gemstones were called sapphires. In fact, sapphires come in many different colors, including green. The different shades of green range from bluish green to light grass green. This means that it can be confused with other green gemstones, such as the emerald, verdelite (also known as green tourmaline) and tsavorite garnet.
Fancy sapphire
All sapphires that are not blue are called fancy sapphires. In addition to the green sapphire, these include the pink sapphire, the padparadscha sapphire, the white sapphire, the purple sapphire and the yellow sapphire. These sapphires not only differ in color from the blue sapphire, but also in value. A green sapphire of the same quality and size as a blue one will normally fetch a lower price. This also applies to other fancy sapphires. Within this “category”, the padparadscha and the pink sapphire are considered the most valuable.
Origin & mining sites
Sapphires are mainly mined in Africa, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, China, Australia, Brazil and North America (mainly in Montana). The mining is mostly done by hand in small mines.
Sapphire in green: use for unique pieces of jewelry
If you buy a cut sapphire in green, you can have a unique piece of jewelry made from it. There are no limits to your creativity and that of your goldsmith. The color green goes well with both yellow and white gold and silver. This gemstone is often combined with other colored gemstones or with small diamonds and made into individual rings, bracelets, necklaces or colliers.
This gemstone is suitable as a gift of jewelry for anyone who has a preference for the color green. The color green also represents nature, growth and hope. In addition, according to the American Gem Society, sapphires are the birthstones of the month of September. The green variety of this gemstone is therefore also an ideal gift for those born in September.
Properties of green sapphire: hardness & inclusions
Like all sapphires and rubies, green sapphire is a corundum. Thanks to its extreme hardness, the mineral corundum is considered to be particularly robust. Carl Friedrich Mohs compared individual minerals to determine their hardness. The result is a ten-point hardness scale. According to this scale, the softest mineral, talc, has a hardness of 1. Diamond is the hardest mineral with a hardness of ten. Corundum is the second hardest mineral with a hardness of nine.
Green sapphires may have small inclusions. These must be indicated in the certificate.
Most common cuts
Green sapphires are usually faceted. In addition to the cushion cut, green sapphires are also found with a round or oval cut, pear cut or with the octagonal emerald cut.
In addition to faceted cuts, these gemstones are also available in a smooth cabochon cut.
