In the summer of 2015, world news agencies reported a sensational discovery in gem mines in the south of the island of Sri Lanka. Ceylon prospectors have 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 valued this fantastically beautiful sapphire stone at an unheard of and unprecedented amount - $175 million.

It’s 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.

Star of Adam

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

According to the ancient legend 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 that seems to be softened like clay.

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

What types of sapphires are there?

For the first time, a detailed scientific account of the differences and properties of sapphires was presented by the ancient encyclopedist Pliny (1st century AD).

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

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

This is the name given to transparent white sapphire, almost indistinguishable from . In jewelry, such stones successfully play the role of small stones.

Why small ones? The fact is that the larger the white sapphires, the more noticeably the color of the stone and quality indicators change; a plausible imitation of diamonds does not work. As experts say, “ears of sapphires stick out from such diamonds.”

However, leucosapphires are original and beautiful in themselves.

Fersman notes that large white sapphires are very rarely of satisfactory quality for jewelry cutting. But the wonderful white mineral sapphire adorns the wonderful mineralogical collections of the largest museums.

This is how astrologers dubbed gray sapphire. This opaque, extremely durable (it is only slightly inferior in strength to original diamond, which can only slightly scratch corundum) is a powerful amulet.

It does not shine, but it contains the power of the genies, who were laid to rest in the once transparent stone by the great Biblical king and magician Solomon. The king imprisoned them in a certain vessel or ring.

Legends say that soon the stone in the magical seal ring of the Biblical king-magician turned into black sapphire. Solomon understood what a sapphire of such a gloomy color meant and to whom it was suitable.

Since then, magicians also know that green sapphires conceal the tiger eyes of genies.

Famous sapphires

This symbol of supreme power was created by the blacksmiths and jeweler monks of the Reichenau Abbey (Germany, 10th century). It was intended for the French king Charlemagne, elevated by Pope Leo III to the rank of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, created from the ruins of the collapsed empire of the Romans.

Heavy golden arched plates are studded with blue sapphires, many large ones. The gems shine through, creating an amazing glow around the crown.

Many rulers of Europe were crowned with this crown.

By the way, the words “king”, “crown”, and also the name of the gold coin crown came from the name of Emperor Charles.

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

In the last century, Adolf Hitler was also seized with a manic idea of ​​conquering the world. The magical properties of Charlemagne's stone were well known to Nazi mystics from the secret occult organization Ahnenerbe ("Heritage of the Ancestors").

The Fuhrer ordered the medieval artifact to be found and delivered to Berlin. The crown of the mighty conqueror is a symbol of former power over the states surrounding the Reich, which means his continuity and the legitimacy of the Fuhrer’s claims.

Fortunately, this time the SS men were unable to find the securely hidden crown.

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

Red sapphire shines at the top triangular gold talisman pendant (9th century) of Charlemagne, outshining the dark cherry garnets and smaller gemstones. The sapphire once had a cabochon twin embedded in a talisman with reverse side, but over the past thousand years he has disappeared. The double stone contained a lock of the hair of the Virgin Mary. This triangle was a powerful talisman of the emperor, created by the magicians of Northern Europe.

The amulet pendant, kept in France, was in the hands of Napoleon. He asked his wife Josephine Beauharnais to dress it for the empress's coronation ceremony.

They say, magical properties The sapphires of the ancient Emperor Charles have not been lost to this day. At the museum display case, major politicians and members of the ruling royal dynasties were often noticed, silently looking at the magic amulet of the great unifier of Europe. Who knows what they are secretly asking for a magical talisman today?

Sapphire Stuarts. A large sapphire (104 carats), which belonged to the Scottish royal dynasty of Stuart, after numerous dramatic events worthy of Shakespeare's pen, ended up in the treasury of the British kings in the Tower. Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901) ordered the “Scotsman” to be installed in the crown of the British Empire.

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

But it's not just kings who own stunning sapphires.

(423 carats) surrounded by two dozen diamonds (their total weight is 16 carats) is set in a gold ladies' brooch. It belonged to Rebecca Guggenheim, the wife of one of the heirs of the famous entrepreneur and philanthropist.

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

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

In the museum catalog, the color of the Logan sapphire is described as “medium-soft violet-blue.”

The magic of sapphire

Ancient Jewish traditions claim that “stars of blue and green, pink and red sapphires” sparkled at the top of King Solomon’s cedar throne. The stones symbolized the elements of heaven and earth, the principles of feminine and masculine. They wove the king's power into an indestructible whole.

Hundreds of generations of magicians knew that starbursts inside the stone opened a portal to the world of spirits. These rare artifacts were passed down through the family of wizards, but often perished along with their owners.

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

Sapphire and Zodiac

Since ancient times, the zodiac circle has determined earthly minerals according to its own standards.

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

By the way, strong-willed women are especially favored by the pink sapphire stone. Cleopatra wore such a mineral with an engraved cobra. An amulet with a pink sapphire was given to the daughters of the queen from the Medici family.

Oddly enough, the Zodiac sign of the owner has no meaning for the magic of sapphire. What matters for the amulet is only the will of the owner to survive the struggle. Only in this case will the amulet give this human will the unprecedented energy of corundum durability.

Weak-willed and suspicious people have no business wearing this stone.

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

An astrologer will draw up a horoscope and determine what color sapphire may suit you. Then the sapphire will show the properties of the stone quite noticeably.

Sapphire and the health of the owner

In ancient witchcraft treatises it is recommended to wear a pink sapphire near the heart. “May he preserve the location of your soul!” wrote medieval healers. They believed that the soul is in the heart. However, to this day no one has refuted this.

Yellow sapphire resists dangerous fevers that Europeans encountered only during the Age of Discovery.

But the sapphire stone is also able to curb the long-famous jaundice.

There is an ornamental semiprecious stone, which bears a consonant name - sapphirine.

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

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

It is so large that its mass is no longer measured in carats (0.2 g), but in 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 capable of growing a sapphire crystal with a diameter of up to half a meter and a mass of more than 300 kilograms, and the sapphire can be of almost any color.

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

The entire single crystal can be used for high-power industrial and military lasers or space telescope mirrors. But for other purposes it is cut.

For example, a variety of medical instruments and even safety razors for stubborn male stubble.

Sapphire is considered a precious stone, second only to diamond in value, beauty and hardness. When purchasing a sapphire, you need to know how to evaluate the quality of the stone to ensure you are getting the most for your money. You also need to approach the purchasing process wisely, know where and how to buy so that you are not charged too high a price.

Steps

Buy quality stones

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

Consider the shade. Sapphires are pure blue, but can have a greenish or purple tint. Pure blue stones are valued the most, followed by stones with a slight purple tint. Strong purple or green tint, is generally considered undesirable.

Assess the transparency of the stone. When buying a sapphire, people do not always pay attention to the transparency of the stone, but the more transparent the stone, the brighter it will look. At the same time, transparent stones are more expensive. Transparent and translucent gems allow most of the light rays to pass through them. Translucent sapphires allow some light to pass through but darken it, making them a good compromise between transparency and cost. Dull and opaque stones allow little or no light to pass through.

Look at sapphires in fancy colors. Although the primary color of sapphires is blue, these gems are also found in a variety of other colors. Pinkish-orange sapphires (subparadscha) are very rare and highly prized. Pink sapphires are also popular. Colorless, yellow and green sapphires are much less valuable.

Be aware that the origin of a sapphire affects its price. Where sapphire is mined can significantly influence the cost of sapphire. Sapphires mined in Kashmir, Mogok, Myanmar (Burma) and Sri Lanka are usually more valuable than others. This is because the quality of stones from mines in these areas tends to be higher than those from other areas. This is not always true and paying for the origin of a stone is like paying for a brand. You can save money by purchasing 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 to show the color and transparency of the stone with best side. Sapphires with deeper cut facets have better color, while shallow cut facets often appear too large for their weight and have more light shade. There are excellent, very good, good, fair and poor cuts.

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

1. Blue sapphires have more inclusions. A sapphire's purity grade refers to the number of inclusions and defects within the stone. The fewer defects, the more expensive the stone will be. The official classification of stone purity (from the same Gemological Institute of America, for example) is available online.

   • Stones of the VVS (with small inclusions), VS (with small inclusions) and SI1 (with small inclusions) groups are transparent sapphires with single defects, so small that they can only be distinguished under significant magnification.
   • SI2 group stones are transparent sapphires, minor defects in which are clearly visible under magnification, 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 a “refined” sapphire. Almost all sapphires that go on sale undergo a process of “refinement”. Most often, it consists of strongly heating the crystal to 2000 degrees for several hours, so that it acquires a more uniform and rich color. Sapphires that have not been subjected to such treatment do not have inclusions and have an excellent color - they are rare and expensive; but since heat treatment is so widely used, treated sapphires are still very valuable.

Buy wisely

Set a budget. Be clear about how much you can afford to spend on a stone before you fall in love with a stone outside your budget. The price of a sapphire can range from $50 per carat to over $10,000 per carat, and the most expensive sapphire was sold for $135,000 per carat. The cost of a sapphire is determined mainly by its quality, and big Stone low quality can cost much less than small, but High Quality. Cut is the most important indicator of quality, since it is the one that most influences the brilliance of the stone. Next comes the purity of the stone (the number of inclusions), then the color.

Choose a setting metal that complements the stone. Frame made of metal in cool tones (silver or White gold) are best suited to blue sapphires. Subparadscha sapphires look gorgeous with yellow gold, while pink sapphires go well with both 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 may pass off as real sapphires.

Having covered 2000 km across the island on our snow-covered vehicle, we arrived at a secret place where the mines are located.

Everything is secret. When it comes to hundreds of thousands of euros and wilderness, secrecy is a must for survival.
Reference.
Madagascar is rich in deposits of precious and semi-precious stones. Of these, the most interesting are garnets, colored tourmalines (rubellite, indigolite, verdelite, tsilaisite), colored beryls (emerald, aquamarine, morganite, including rare black beryl), ruby, sapphire, cordierite, danburite, kunzite, amethyst, citrine ( jewelry stones) and amazonite, labradorite, rhodonite, rose quartz, agate, jasper, etc.
My coolest off-road in life. Driving a tractor through wild Madagascar with armed guards


We threw our things into the tractor and drove across the Mananara River to our destination. The river seems to be shallow, 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 was already over, it was getting dark. The place is depressing, and the weather was not pleasant.


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


The soil is soft and loose. After passing through the excavator, the hole is instantly filled with water.
They are dumping rock nearby. A week passes and the blade itself washes into the hole. Everything is overgrown on its own.
But the coolest thing is the color. The earth is exactly the same color as in the photo.
In general, everything there is bright and vibrant in color. The greens are all acidic - tender - light green.


Next, the rock is loaded into a dump truck and taken for washing.
Drivers are local. The job is prestigious. Competition for a place is 1/1000. Therefore, they value and take pride in their work.


Washing the rock.


Rock is poured into this thing and washed with water.




Then by hand! choose stones. If they are caught stealing (and they find out about it), they can bury it and no one will look for it. There are no police. Gone and gone.
The spent rock is discharged into the river.


With a 99% probability, an untrained person will not distinguish a sapphire or ruby ​​from just stones. This requires skill and a “diamond eye.”
The extracted stones are washed in water. Then they are washed in a chemical solution, dried and stored.
For example, the average cost of an average stone from this pile is 4,000 euros after cutting. (+ – 280,000 rub.)


About everyday life.
People work in 12-hour shifts. They stop work only when it gets dark, and then, if they need to give results, 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 thoughts.
Alcohol is strictly prohibited. (see above about security)


Bedroom. A canopy is a must.


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


Some stones are cut on site.
The coolest, most popular cutters in the world are the Thais. In general, there are many Thais on the island.
The locals themselves are descended from the Thais. A long time ago, blacks lived here, then the Thais arrived and fell in love with the blacks, and the result was stupid, but kind and gentle Malagassi. We watched the cartoon “Madagascar”, and so the lemurs were copied from local residents.


Cutting machine.


Finished rubies.


Retreat. Locals practically do not drink strong alcohol. Nothing better than beer. But they smoke everything that is smoked. Everyone has this thing - it's a goat's horn. It is stuffed with dopey grass and twisted out.


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


They can go (illegally) to Sri Lanka, where they will undergo homologation, and then go to Europe and from there to the USA. The path is difficult and dangerous.

Instructions

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

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

Sapphires are mined in a limited number of places on earth. Almost 80% comes from Australia, minerals dark blue, which appear black under artificial light. They are considered the most inexpensive, unlike Kashmiri stones, which have a unique cornflower blue hue. According to experts, once you see it mined in Kashmir (India), you will never be able to confuse it with another mineral. Such gems are highly valued on the market, and especially large specimens sell for millions of dollars at auctions.

The cost of sapphires mined in Sri Lanka and Burma is also high. Burmese minerals are characterized by intense Blue colour with a light ultramarine tint. And sapphires from Sri Lanka are distinguished by a paler color with pronounced dichroism. However, in both crystals you can often notice inclusions of white needles (“silk”) that catch light when the stone rotates. If such “silk” is noticeable in a sapphire with the naked eye, the value of the stone decreases. The only exception is the case when the white needles form a star shape.

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

Small to medium sized natural sapphires are often heat treated for refinement purposes. This method allows you to change the intensity, remove unnecessary shades or eliminate “silk”. Australian sapphires are especially often calcined. Thanks to this procedure, their color becomes lighter. During cutting, cracks in the stone are eliminated. Large specimens of sapphires, as a rule, are not subjected to heat treatment, since their value in this case is greatly reduced.

The price of such a precious stone depends on the place of its extraction, size, shade, purity, structure. Large sapphires usually start at $1,000 per carat. There are cases when such minerals were sold for millions of dollars. Medium-sized sapphires typically sell 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 sometimes only an experienced jeweler can distinguish from natural ones. Moreover, it is especially difficult to detect a fake 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 setting for sapphire, whose color harmonizes perfectly with the cool shades of the stone. With this combination, the mineral looks especially advantageous. However, in stores you can also buy sapphire products in yellow or rose gold.

Origin of sapphire

Sapphire deposits are found in Sri Lanka, mainly milky blues are found there. There is a deposit in the USA, Montana, where sapphires are mined pale to cornflower blue or violet in color. Sapphire deposits have also been discovered in Thailand (Siam) and Kampuchea, in Australia. Indian deposits are located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir.

History of sapphire

The name comes from the Greek word sappheiros, which means “blue stone,” or from sapir, which means the same in Hebrew. Sapphire is a variety of gemstone that comes in different shades, mostly blue.

U 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. The Heavenly City is surrounded by a magnificent wall, the base of which is decorated with gems. Sapphires decorate second stage of the foundation.

In an 18th-century medical book the following is said about sapphire: “Whoever wears an azure yacht in a ring will make him calm and honest, pious and merciful in people.”

In the old days they believed that the person who wears ring with sapphire, it is impossible to deceive because it helps to recognize lies. It was also believed that sapphire protects men from envy and protects women from slander.

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

Blue stone was considered an ideal mineral for making wedding rings. Already today, Prince Charles decided to restore this ancient tradition when he presented Princess Diana with a luxurious dark blue sapphire. After royal wedding Such rings became popular among 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 was considered a “royal stone”, so monarchs wore it as a ward off trouble, and Russian tsars decorated sceptres, orbs and crowns with it.

Very beautiful deep blue sapphires adorn the crown of the British Empire. These are name stones - “ St Edward's Sapphire" And " Sapphire Smarta" In Eastern countries, sapphire was considered a mineral of contemplation and wisdom.

How to wear sapphire jewelry

If wear sapphire as an amulet or a talisman, it will protect against betrayal, slander and perfidy. The stone is a talisman for prisoners. In the east, sapphire was considered the petrified drink of the gods, which brought immortality. Sapphire bowls enhanced whatever contents were poured into them.

Astrological properties of sapphire

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