 |
|
| STAR
SAPPHIRE, Untreated |
The
rays of the star are said to represent
Faith, Hope, and Destiny.
People thought the ages have adored its
unique and serene nature. |
It has been said that the three interesting
rays of light in a star sapphire
represent Faith, Hope, and Destiny.
The overall appearance of the star
sapphire in the photograph on the
next page is well executed. The star
is fairly visible even under normal
lighting, and when a penlight is
shined on it, six sharp and distinct
rays of light appear across the whole
surface of the stone. The star moves
to the right when the stone is tilted
to the right, and to the left when
the stone is rocked toward the left.
As in star rubies, the rays of the
star appear weaker in more transparent
stones.
"
Star sapphire" refers to cabochon-cut
blue or gray corundum that exhibits
the star effect, or asterism. Star
may appear in other members of the
corundum family such as ruby and
violet sapphire, but orange and yellow
sapphire do not exhibit stars.
Ninety percent of all star sapphires
are mined in Sri Lanka, and they
have been loved over the ages for
their uniqueness and their serene
appearance. Many of the blue sapphires
mined in Sri Lanka, both the cabochon-cut
ones showing the star effect and
those that are faceted, are natural-colored
stones that do not undergo heat treatment. |
Heat applied
to such sapphires during ring resizing
may alter their color, making them
lighter, so jewelers will exercise
special care with these. It is thought
that natural gemstones maintain a
never-changing color; though this
is usually the case, there are instances
where they can easily be altered
by heat.
There is also the near-colorless
sapphire rough called "geuda" which
contains silk inclusions and will
become a gray star sapphire when
cut into a cabochon. Heating this
rough material at high temperatures
causes the silk areas to turn the
stone blue, and sapphires treated
in this way are very popular. Therefore,
rough crystals of this type that
have few imperfections will be heat-treated
and made into faceted sapphires instead
of being cut as cabochons that show
the star effect. Geuda, with its
high likelihood of becoming a beautiful
sapphire, commands a high price. |
|
| |
Ring,
Platinum
Star Sapphire 1 pc
17.58
ct
Untreated
Diamond 2 pc
US $80,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
