In the summer of 2015, world news agencies reported a sensational discovery in gem mines in the south of Sri Lanka. Ceylon miners discovered the world's largest sapphire crystal weighing 1,404.5 carats.

Experts examined an unprecedented green sapphire in the capital of the island of Colombo and appreciated this fantastically beautiful sapphire stone in an unheard-of and unprecedented amount - $ 175 million.

No wonder that the shocked owner kept the find a secret for almost a year. He does not disclose his name, and does not allow the image of the stone to be distributed.

Adam Star

It is only known that a rare juicy herbal shade of sapphire complements the even more rare property of the mineral. It has the effect of asterism. The crystal structure of its peculiar structural lattice refracts light so whimsically that it returns to the observers in the form of radiant stellar flares.

According to the ancient tradition of the islanders, after being expelled from paradise, Adam came to Ceylon and settled in the mountains of the island. There, to this day, tourists are shown a huge imprint of his foot in a granite rock as if softened like clay.

In honor of the mythical First Man, the stone was dubbed the "Star of Adam."

What are sapphires?

For the first time, a detailed scientific account of the differences and properties of sapphires was presented by the ancient encyclopedist Pliny (I century from R.Kh.)

He described the amazing property of sapphire color change when viewed from different angles. This phenomenon is called pleochroism.

The most complete classification of minerals in our country was developed in the past century by the talented Russian mineral scientist Academician Fersman. From his works you can find out what color sapphires are, where they are extracted and how they are cut.

So called transparent white sapphire, almost indistinguishable from. In jewelry, such stones successfully play the role of small ones.

Why exactly small ones? The fact is that the larger the white sapphires, the more noticeable the color of the stone and the quality indicators change, a plausible imitation of diamonds does not work. According to experts, "sapphire ears stick out of such diamonds."

However, leucosapphires are original and beautiful in themselves.

Fersman notes that large white sapphires are very rarely satisfactory in quality for jewelry cutting. But on the other hand, the wonderful white mineral sapphire is adorned with beautiful mineralogical collections of the largest museums.

So astrologers christened gray sapphire. This opaque strongest (it is slightly inferior in strength to the original diamond, which can only slightly scratch corundum) is a powerful amulet.

He does not shine, but harbors the power of the genies whom the great Bible king and magician Solomon laid down in the once transparent stone. The king imprisoned them in a vessel or ring.

Legends say that soon the stone in the magical seal of the Biblical king-magician turned into a black sapphire. Solomon understood what it means and who suits sapphire of such a gloomy color.

Since then, magicians also know that green sapphires melt the tiger's eyes of genies

Famous sapphires

This symbol of supreme power was created by the blacksmiths and jeweler monks of the Reichenau Abbey (Germany, X c.). It was intended for the French king Charles the Great, raised by Pope Leo III to the rank of emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, created on the ruins of the collapsed empire of the Romans.

Heavy golden arched plates are strewn with sapphires of blue color, many large. Gems shine through, creating an amazing radiance around the crown.

This crown crowned many of the rulers of Europe.

By the way, on behalf of Emperor Karl, the words “king”, “crown”, and also the name of the gold coin of the crown came.

Napoleon wanted to take possession of the epic crown, but failed: the German landgraves hid the relic in the dungeon of one of the Viennese castles.

In the past century, the manic idea of \u200b\u200bconquering the world was embraced by Adolf Hitler. The magical properties of the stone of Charlemagne were well known to the Nazi mystics from the secret occult organization Ahnenerbe (Heritage of the Ancestors).

The Fuhrer ordered to find and deliver the medieval artifact to Berlin. The crown of the mighty conqueror is a symbol of former power over the states surrounding the Reich, which means its continuity and legitimacy of the claims of the Führer.

Fortunately, this time the SS men could not find a reliably hidden crown.

Today, tourists admire the legendary crown at the Museum of Art in the Habsburg Palace (Vienna, Austria).

Red sapphire shining at the top   triangular golden pendant-mascot (IX century) of Charlemagneeclipsing dark cherry grenades and smaller gems. Sapphire once had a cabochon twin embedded in the talisman on the back, but over the past thousand years it has disappeared. In the twin stone was a lock of hair of the Virgin Mary. This triangle was a mighty amulet of the emperor, created by the magicians of Northern Europe.

The amulet pendant stored in France was in the hands of Napoleon. He asked his wife Josephine Beauharnais to dress her at the empress’s coronation ceremony.

They say that the magical properties of the sapphire of the ancient emperor Karl have not been lost to this day. Large museum politicians and members of the ruling royal dynasties, silently staring at the magical amulet of the great unifier of Europe, were often noticed at the museum window. Who knows what they are secretly asking for the magic talisman today?

Sapphire Stuart. A large sapphire (104 carats) belonging to the Scottish royal dynasty of the Stuarts, after numerous dramatic events worthy of Shakespeare's pen, found himself in the treasury of the British kings in the Tower. Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901) ordered the “Scots” to be placed in the crown of the British Empire.

In this photo, the current Queen of Britain Elizabeth II in the imperial tiara of the British monarchs after the coronation (1954).

But not only kings own stunning sapphires.

  (423 carats) surrounded by two dozen diamonds (their total weight is 16 carats) is set into a golden women's brooch. It belonged to Rebecca Guggenheim, the wife of one of the heirs of a well-known entrepreneur and philanthropist.

After his death, Rebecca married John Logan. In 1960, Mrs. Logan transferred her blue sapphire to the exposition of the gallery of stones and minerals of the National Smithsonian Museum (Washington, USA).

Once, a journalist friend asked Rebecca why she without regret gave the sapphire gem to the gallery. Becky replied: “When I looked at this stone, I saw not the best memories in its blue.”

In the catalog of the museum, the color of sapphire Logan has the following description: "medium-soft purple-blue."

Sapphire magic

Ancient Jewish legends claim that "the stars of blue and green, pink and red sapphires" sparkled at the tops of the cedar throne of King Solomon. The stones symbolized the elements of heaven and earth, the beginnings of women and men. They weaved the power of the king into an indestructible whole.

Hundreds of generations of magicians have known that star flashes inside a stone open a portal to the spirit world. These rare artifacts were transmitted to the family of wizards, but often died along with the owners.

Such magic stones instantly disappear from auctions for any price. The cost of a portal to another world in ridiculous earthly paper money is insignificant, because a million dollars is only ten kilograms of painted paper.

Sapphire and Zodiac

Since ancient times, the zodiac circle defines terrestrial minerals by its standards.

Pliny, following the ancient beliefs of the Romans, divided the sapphires according to the zodiac sign into male and female individuals. He attributed the yellow sapphire stone to children's amulets, and the pink sapphire stone to youthful and girlish.

By the way, strong-willed women are especially fond of pink sapphire stone. Cleopatra wore such a mineral with an engraved cobra. The pink sapphire amulet was passed on to the daughters of the Medici Queen.

Oddly enough, the owner’s zodiac sign does not matter for sapphire magic. Value for the amulet is only the will of the owner to withstand the struggle. Only in this case, the amulet will give this human will an unprecedented energy of corundum resistance.

Weak, suspicious people have nothing to wear this stone.

The power of corundum protection implies the harmony of the owner’s aura with the color of the amulet stone

The astrologer will make a horoscope and determine what color sapphire may suit you. Then sapphire stone properties show quite noticeable.

Sapphire and owner health

In ancient healing medicine, it is recommended to wear pink sapphire at the heart. “May he preserve the whereabouts of your soul!” Wrote medieval healers. They believed that the soul is in the heart. However, to this day no one has denied this.

Yellow sapphire confronts the dangerous fevers that Europeans encountered only during the era of the great geographical discoveries.

But the sapphire stone, able to curb the infamous jaundice, has long been able to curb.

There is an ornamental semiprecious stone bearing the consonant name - sapphirin.

The name stuck after the first publication of the report on the discovery of German geologists in Greenland (1819), where the mineral was given the following characteristic: "An opaque cornflower blue stone resembling blue sapphire." Later it turned out that this is a milky blue variety. Sometimes called sapphire and banded variety of chalcedony - blue.

In July 2008, the world's largest artificial white sapphire was grown in the Institute of Monocrystals of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in ten days.

It is so large that its mass is no longer measured in carats (0.2 g), but in full-weight kilograms. The weight of this single crystal exceeded 45 kg.

But the record weight of the first-born crystal is not the limit. Ukrainian scientists claim that their innovative installation is able to grow a sapphire crystal with a diameter of up to half a meter with a mass of more than 300 kilograms, and sapphire can be of almost any color.

However, the collapse of prices for jewelry with sapphires is not expected. Such artificial monoliths are intended for other purposes. The value of sapphire stone grown to order is extremely high for the aerospace industry, microelectronics, robotics, optoelectronic devices.

Entirely the entire single crystal can be used for heavy-duty industrial and military lasers or mirrors of space telescopes. But for other purposes it is cut.

For example, a variety of medical instruments and even safety razors for stubborn male bristles are already being made from ultrathin sharp slices of the toughest sapphire crystal.

Sapphire is considered a gem, the second after a diamond in value, beauty and hardness. When buying sapphire, you should know how to evaluate the quality of the stone in order to be sure that you will get the maximum for your money. You also need to wisely approach the buying process, know where and how to buy, so that you are not asked to get too high a price.

Steps

Buy quality stones

Decide which shade of blue you want.   Sapphires are blue in color, their shades range from the lightest (Princess of Sweden) to dark blue and black. The most appreciated shade is “royal blue”, located in the middle of the scale of shades. Accordingly, it also refers to the most expensive stones. The stones of the colors Camelot and Commodore, respectively, are slightly lighter and slightly darker, very similar in color, but slightly cheaper.

Consider the shade.   Sapphires are pure blue, but can have a greenish or purple hue. Purely blue stones are valued above all, the next are stones with a light purple hue. A strong purple or green hue is generally considered undesirable.

Rate the transparency of the stone.   When buying sapphire, the transparency of the stone is not always paid attention to, but the more transparent the stone, the brighter it will look. At the same time, transparent stones are more expensive. Transparent and translucent gems pass most of the light rays through them. Translucent sapphires partially transmit light, but darken it, which makes such stones a worthy compromise between transparency and value. Dull and opaque stones allow little or no light to pass through.

Look at sapphires in fancy colors.   Although the main color of sapphires is blue, these gems are also found in various other colors. Pinkish-orange sapphires (subparajas) are very rare and are highly valued. Pink sapphires are also popular. Colorless, yellow and green sapphires are much less appreciated.

Be aware that the origin of sapphire affects its price.   The location of sapphire mining can significantly affect the cost of sapphire. Sapphires mined in Kashmir, Mogok, Myanmar (Burma) and Sri Lanka are usually valued more than others. This is due to the fact that the quality of stones from mines in these places is usually higher than from others. It is not always true and paying for the origin of the stone is like paying for a brand. You can save by buying quality sapphires from lesser-known mines.

Pay attention to the cut.   The cut is not the same as the shape of the stone. Cutting is a method of processing the surface of a stone, allowing you to show the color and transparency of the stone from the best side. Sapphires with a deeper cut of facets have a better color, while those with a small cut often look too large for their weight and have a lighter shade. Allocate excellent, very good, good, satisfactory and poor cut.

• Look for ratings from official organizations such as the Gemological Institute of America. Jewelers can assign stones their own ratings, but, as a rule, they are higher than official.

1. Blue sapphires have more inclusions.   Sapphire purity means the number of inclusions and defects inside the stone. The fewer defects, the more expensive the stone will be. The official classification of the purity of stones (from the same Gemological Institute of America, for example) is available online.

   • Stones of groups VVS (with small inclusions), VS (with small inclusions) and SI1 (with small inclusions) are transparent sapphires with single defects, so small that they can be distinguished only with a significant increase.
   • The stones of the SI2 group are transparent sapphires, minor defects in which are clearly visible with increasing, but do not particularly affect the light transmission of the stone.
   • I1, I2 and I3 are sapphires with a slight loss of transparency, defects and inclusions in them are clearly visible even to the naked eye.

2. Feel free to take the "ennobled" sapphire. Almost all sapphires on sale go through the process of “ennoblement”. Most often, it consists in a strong heating of the crystal to 2000 degrees for several hours, so that it acquires a more uniform and saturated color. Sapphires that have not undergone such processing do not have inclusions and have a beautiful color - they are rare and expensive; but, since heat treatment is used very widely, ennobled sapphires are still very valuable.

Buy wisely

Set a budget.   Clearly determine how much you can afford to spend on buying a stone before falling in love with a stone outside your budget. The cost of sapphire can range from $ 50 per carat to more than $ 10,000 per carat, and the most expensive sapphire was sold at a price of $ 135,000 per carat. The cost of sapphire is determined mainly by its quality, and a large stone of low quality can cost much cheaper than a small, but high quality. Cutting is the most important quality indicator, since it is it that most affects the luster of the stone. Next come the purity of the stone (the number of inclusions), then the color.

Choose metal for the frame to complement the stone.   Cold-tone metal frames (silver or white gold) work best with blue sapphires. Sapphires of "subparaj" look elegant with yellow gold, and pink sapphires go well with silver and gold.

Beware of possible fakes.   Small sellers may try to sell cheaper gems under the guise of sapphires to inexperienced buyers. Tanzanite, blue spinel and blue tourmaline are some of the minerals that dishonest sellers can pass off as real sapphires.

Overcoming 2000 km of the island on our snow-white, we arrived at a secret place where the mines are located.

Everything is secret. When it comes to hundreds of thousands of euros and the wilderness, secrecy is a “thing” necessary for survival.
Reference.
  Madagascar is rich in deposits of precious and ornamental stones. Of these, garnets, colored tourmalines (rubellite, indigolite, verdelite, tsilaizit), colored beryls (emerald, aquamarine, morganite, including rare black beryl), ruby, sapphire, cordierite, danburite, kunzite, amethyst, are of most interest. citrine (jewelry stones) and amazonite, labradorite, rhodonite, rose quartz, agate, jasper, etc.
  My coolest off-road in my life. Tractor Riding Wild Madagascar with Armed Guard


They threw things into a tractor and drove across the Mananara River to their destination. The river seems to be small, but with a soft bottom. An ordinary car will not pass, only a tractor. All other entrances are either littered or mined - literally.


  The working day at the mines has already ended, it was getting dark. The place is depressing, and the weather did not please.


  The mining process begins with digging. In order to get one stone you need to dig a lot of tons of rock.


  The soil is soft and loose. After the excavator passes, the pit instantly fills with water.
  Dump the rock nearby. A week passes and the blade itself is washed into the pit. Everything is overgrown by itself.
  But, the coolest is the color. The earth is exactly the same color as in the photo.
  In general, everything is bright and vibrant in color. All greens are acid - gently - light green.


  Next, the breed is loaded into a dump truck and taken for washing.
  Local drivers. The work is prestigious. Competition for 1/1000 place. Therefore, work is valued and proud.


  Flushing the breed.


  Here in this thing, the rock is poured and washed with water.




  Then by hand! choose stones. If they catch a theft (and learn about it), they can bury it and no one will look. There is no police. Gone and gone.
  The spent rock is discharged into the river.


  With a probability of 99%, an unprepared person will not distinguish sapphire, or ruby \u200b\u200bfrom just stones. Here you need a skill and an “eye diamond”.
  Mined stones washed in water. Then it is washed in a chemical solution, dried and stored.
  For example, the average cost of an average stone from this pile is after cutting € 4,000. (+ - 280 000 rub)


  About life.
  The people work on a rotational basis for 12 hours. They stop working only when it gets dark and then, if you need to give a result, they can work all night.


  Our guest. There are all amenities except the Internet. In the evening, white people gather in a warm company (with weapons), talk and share their thoughts.
  Alcohol is strictly prohibited. (see above for security)


  Bedroom. The canopy is required.


  It’s not very pleasant to wake up from the fact that a Madagascar cockroach is 5 cm long crawling over you, or a butterfly the size of a magazine crouched on your face.


  Part of the stones are cut in place.
  The coolest cutters in the world are Thais. In general, there are many Thais on the island.
  The locals themselves came from Thais. Once upon a time, Negroes lived here, then Thais sailed and fell in love with the Negroes, resulting in stupid, but kind and kind-hearted Malagassi. We watched the cartoon "Madagascar", and so - the lemurs copied from the locals.


  Cutting machine.


  Ready rubies.


Retreat. Local practically do not drink strong alcohol. Nothing is higher than beer. But they smoke everything that smokes. Everyone has such a thing - it's a goat horn. Dope grass is stuffed into it and twisted.


  The further path of the stones depends on who ordered the stones.


  They can (illegally) leave for Sri Lanka, where they will undergo homologation, and then get to Europe and from there to the USA. The path is not easy and dangerous.

Instruction manual

Sapphire is a type of corundum - a mineral that is an aluminum oxide. It is characterized by strong gloss and high strength, which is only slightly inferior to diamond. For this reason, this stone is considered simply created for cutting. The melting point of sapphire is 2040 ° C.

The color scheme of this gemstone ranges from a light blue tint to almost black. There are also specimens of pink, orange, yellow and green in nature. However, their value is not particularly high. However, like light blue and black sapphire.

Sapphire is mined in a limited number of places on earth. Almost 80% is in Australia, dark blue minerals that appear black under artificial light. They are considered the most inexpensive, unlike Kashmir stones, which have a unique cornflower hue. According to experts, once seen mined in Kashmir (India), it can never be confused with another mineral. Such precious stones are very much appreciated in the market, and especially large specimens are sold for millions of dollars at auctions.

The cost of sapphires mined in Sri Lanka and Burma is also high. Burmese minerals are characterized by a deep blue color with a slight ultramarine hue. And sapphires from Sri Lanka are more pale in color with pronounced dichroism. However, in those and other crystals, one can often see blotches of white needles (“silk”) that trap light when the stone rotates. If such a “silk” is visible in sapphire with the naked eye, the value of the stone is reduced. The only exception is when white needles form a star shape.

Not so long ago, sapphire deposits were discovered in the US state of Montana. The minerals mined there are distinguished by a grayish metallic luster. The color scheme of American sapphires can vary from light blue and turquoise to cornflower blue. Sapphires are also mined in Thailand.

Small and medium sized natural sapphires are often heat treated to refine. This method allows you to change the intensity, remove excess shades or eliminate the "silk". Australian sapphires are especially often calcined. Thanks to this procedure, their color becomes lighter. During the cutting, cracks are eliminated in the stone. Large copies of sapphires, as a rule, are not subjected to heat treatment, since their cost in this case is greatly reduced.

The price of such a gemstone depends on the place of its extraction, size, shade, purity, structure. The cost of large sapphires usually starts at $ 1,000 per carat. There are cases when such minerals were sold for millions of dollars. Medium-sized sapphires are usually sold for $ 300-600 per carat. And very small specimens (less than 0.5 carats) can be bought for $ 10-20, especially if they have many different inclusions.

Currently, a large number of products with high-quality synthetic sapphires are sold on the market, which can only be distinguished from natural ones by an experienced jeweler. Moreover, a fake is especially difficult to detect if the stone is in a closed frame - then the refractometer displays indicators characteristic of natural sapphire.

Jewelers usually use silver or white gold as a frame for sapphire, whose color is in perfect harmony with the cool shades of the stone. With this combination, the mineral looks especially advantageous. Nevertheless, in stores you can buy products with sapphire also in yellow or pink gold.

Origin of sapphire

Sapphire deposits   located in Sri Lanka, mainly milky-blue are found there. There is a field in the US state of Montana where mined sapphires   from pale to cornflower blue or purple. Sapphire deposits are also found in Thailand (Siam) and Kampuchea, in Australia. Indian deposits are located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sapphire history

The name comes from the Greek word sappheiros, which means "blue stone", or from sapir, which in Hebrew means the same. Sapphire is one of the varieties, a gem of various shades, mostly blue.

At sapphire   very interesting story. This stone is one of the twelve stones that adorns the Heavenly Jerusalem described in the Apocalypse.

It symbolizes the salvation and reconciliation of people with God. Heavenly City is surrounded by a magnificent wall, which at the base is trimmed with gems. Sapphires adorn   second stage of the base.

The 18th-century textbook on sapphire says the following: "Whoever wears a blue yacht in a ring with him will make him calm and honest, pious and merciful in people."

  In ancient times, it was believed that the person who wears sapphire ringIt’s impossible to deceive, because it helps to recognize a lie. They also believed that sapphire keeps men from envy, and protects women from slander.

To prove her virtue and innocence, a woman had to wear sapphire for three hours in daylight. If sapphire changed color, then the woman is wrong.

Blue stone was considered the perfect mineral for making engagement rings. Already today, Prince Charles decided to restore this ancient tradition when he presented Princess Diana with a luxurious dark blue sapphire. After the royal wedding, such rings began to be popular with lovers.

There is a legend about sapphire according to which the biblical tablets that Moses received from the Lord on Mount Sinai were actually sapphires. Sapphire   It was considered a "royal stone", so the monarchs wore it as from trouble, and the Russian tsars decorated them with scepters, powers and crowns.

Very beautiful thick blue sapphires adorn the crown of the British Empire. These are nominal stones - " Sapphire of St. Edward"And" Smart Sapphire". In Eastern countries, sapphire was considered a mineral of contemplation and wisdom.

How to wear sapphire jewelry

If wear sapphire like an amulet   or a talisman, it will protect against betrayal, slander and treachery. The stone is the mascot of prisoners. In the east, sapphire was considered the petrified drink of the gods, which brought immortality. Sapphire bowls improved any contents that were poured into them.

Astrological properties of sapphire

Sapphire is capable of   strengthen the spirit and informal power over other people. He is a stone of high level teachers. Its special variety is star sapphireis a mascot Sapphires come in various shades and colors, but are extremely rare sapphire variety   called padparadsha. There are yellow, orange-yellow, green, sometimes with asterism (an asterisk inside), with an alexandrite effect and stones of a dark blue color.