Origins of Sapphire: Kashmir, Ceylon, Australian and Montana Sapphire

Sapphire, whether from Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Thailand, Africa, or Montana US, all have the same chemical composition - they’re all corundums.  The difference lies in their growing environments and the trace elements present during their formation.

Quality characteristics such as color and saturation, sparkle or “life”, cut and color modifiers help us determine a sapphire’s country of origin. Traveling to the source, like we have done in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Madagascar, and Africa, has allowed us to understand the sapphire markets intimately and learn from the dealers themselves where these stones come from.

The Value of Trace Elements

All gemstones form in environments where small amounts of trace elements are present.  Trace elements provide gemologists with clues to determine both general body-color of a gemstone and its country of origin.  

On a basic level, trace elements are what sets apart a chunk of clear corundum from a blue sapphire, a purple sapphire, or a pink sapphire.  I like to think of them as gemstone dyes, coloring the main clear body-color of the gemstone.  Blue sapphires, for instance, are colored by the trace elements iron and titanium.

Though essential in color formation, through what gemologists call color centers, this isn't the only clue trace elements give us.  They also give us insight into where a gemstone formed, or its country of origin.  Specific trace elements, in certain quantities or concentrations, are only present in specific countries or even specific mines within those countries.  Kashmir sapphires, for instance will have very different trace elements than a sapphire from Thailand, even if they are the same general body-color.

The trace elements iron and titanium color these two blue sapphires, while the trace element chromium colors the pink sapphire in the center. 

Ceylon or Sri Lankan Sapphires 

Quality Ceylon sapphires are the finest quality sapphire that is available in the market today.  Ceylon is now called Sri Lanka, however the name Ceylon is still used in the gem trade.  The stones come in a light blue to dark blue, where the darker the color, the finer the stone is.  There is very rarely a Ceylon stone that is considered too dark, unlike a Thai, Australian or African stone.  Ceylon stones have a true cobalt blue color, unlike an Australian or Thai stone that has more of a black-blue color.

Because Ceylon sapphires tend to be on the lighter side of the color spectrum, they are generally cut very deep in order to bring out the saturation of color.  We look for stones with a medium depth.  A stone that is too shallow will causing windowing and lower saturation of color, while a stone that is too deep loses value because it “faces up” smaller than its actual carat weight.  

We have been traveling to Sri Lanka for over 25 years, and travel there almost annually to purchase their high quality sapphires and other rare gemstones.  In Sri Lanka, we are able to buy directly from the gemstone miners, who often cut and facet the gemstone, and sell the gemstone, seeing the whole process through.  The country has not allowed any mechanized mining or large businesses to come in with large equipment, which has allowed for the gemstone's natural resources to be preserved for future generations.  From our first trip to the island off the coast of India, sapphire prices have risen dramatically and what we considered our “secret fishing hole” has been opened up to many gemstone buyers from around the world!

Though we primarily seek out blue sapphire from the marketplace to pair with our antique and vintage mountings, we have also come home with beautiful purples, pinks, yellows and greens.  These stones have the same crystal structure and chemical composition as blues, though they were exposed to different trace elements during growth.  Through the process of heat treating, treaters can sometimes turn a light blue, yellow or brown stone into a blue stone, increasing its value and marketability.  

Ceylon sapphires are considered the finest available sapphires in the world.  Kashmir stones are known to be the finest material, but those mines have been shut down for decades and there is no reliable flow of gems from this region.

The vast majority of sapphire that we have at Market Square Jewelers are Ceylon stones.  We adore the varieties of colors, the richness of the blues and the amazing sparkle that they exude.  Even the blue-green stone, the second one down, is a Ceylon stone!  It's bi-colored nature is absolutely one-of-a-kind! 

The sparkle of this Ceylon stone is quintessential of this region!  I adore both this stone, which has so much life, and the unique mounting it's presented in! 

A quintet of Ceylon sapphire engagement style rings, yummy!  Each of these stones are so rich in color - much darker than traditional Ceylon sapphires.

Shop all of our sapphire engagement rings by clicking here!  

Australian Sapphires

The current sapphire mined in Australia is more plentiful than Ceylon stones.  These sapphires are a navy blue color and are much less expensive than some of the others we have discussed, making Australian stones affordable and beautiful.

The vast majority of what we see in commercial modern jewelry is sourced from Australia.  These stones are mined, often shipped to Bangkok to be cut, where mining costs are much less expensive, and sold to large jewelry manufacturers.  

Australian sapphires work perfectly for the commercial market because they are relatively uniform in color and are plentiful so they can be mass produced in jewelry.  Sapphires sourced from Australia aren't usually original to antique jewelry, because they are more of a modern discovery.

Australian sapphire is typically a dark navy blue, with green undertones.  This is what most people think of sapphire color; it is rich and dark and looks great on a variety of skin tones.  As the gemstones become too dark or black, they lose value dramatically.  These blue/black stones are sometimes called “onyx” sapphire.

The lighter blue sapphire on the left is a light Ceylon stone, a beautiful sky blue.  The one on the right is one of our finest Australian stones, beautiful in the richness of its blue color.  Notice the haziness to the stone in comparison to the way the Ceylon stone shimmers in the light.

Montana Sapphires

Also called Yogo sapphires, Montana sapphires are mined from the Yogo Gulch.  They tend to be light in color (blue, yellow and brown) with grey undertones.  

Our friend Lonnie, who starred in our documentary “RockMen”, has mined and faceted these gemstones for 20 years.  We first met him because he contacted us to sell his faceted stones.  He then became an international traveling partner and gemstone buyer for us, traveling to places like Colombia, Brazil, Thailand, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and India.  

Montana sapphires are usually small in size and faceted as a round brilliant.  They do not command nearly the value that Ceylon stones do, but many can have a bright and lively sparkle that is similar to the sparkle of a Ceylon.  

We especially love these sapphires because they were mined, cut and fashioned, and sold to us all in the United States.  For someone interested in sapphire and who wants to support US products, this is a great option.  They’re quite beautiful too!

This bi-colored Montana sapphire is set in a rose gold Victorian mounting. 

View all our sapphire mined in Montana here!

Kashmir Sapphires

Kashmir sapphires were mined from the Kashmir region of northern India (at 14,500 ft).  They are considered the finest sapphires in the world.  Mined for about 40 years, between 1880-1920s, these stones are not available in the modern markets.  Because we work with antiques, we do see these stones in Victorian and early Deco jewelry from time to time.  If we can confirm that the stone is a Kashmir, through a trace element test from the GIA, the price of the gem increases dramatically.

The GIA can sometimes identify whether a stone is from the Kashmir region by looking at the trace elements found in the gemstone, though sometimes even this test can come back inconclusive.  Because each region has trace elements that are unique to the region, the GIA can conclude where the stone came from.  

Kashmir sapphires are known for their velvety blue color, caused by parallel lines of silk running through the stone.  They are also considered the finest color, a corn-flower medium blue color.  Though the finest Ceylons can rival a Kashmir stone in color, it is inaccurate to call a Ceylon stone corn-flower blue color.  This color distinction is reserved only for Kashmir stones.  

We have had under ten true Kashmir sapphires during our 33 years in business, these stones are incredible rare.  Unfortunately we do not have a photo of a Kashmir stone to share at this time, but this Ceylon sapphire rivals the incredible beauty of a Kashmir any day! This stone truly has a velvety luxury to its color.  

To view all of our sapphire jewelry, click here.